Shards
by Alucard's Familiar
Summary: RENAMED! Possessed by a demon he cannot control nor rid himself of, Eriol unwillingly begins to attack the people around him. Kaho, knowing who the demon will go after is she's killed, returns to Tomoeda to warn them and give them time to prepare.
1. Chapter 1

Alucard's Familiar: "Manga based between the time Syaoran left and the time he returned. The ultimate FujitakaxKaho story. Eriol is possessed by a strange demon that is bent on destroying whatever is in its path. Kaho is the unfortunate one in his path and it's not before she is dead will the demon move onto other people. Knowing who it will go after next; Kaho has returned to warn them before it's too late in case the demon does succeed in killing her before she can kill it.

FxK centered

Disclaimer: I own diddly…will be working on art pieces for this story though.

Edit: Redid a few scenes in here after getting help and correction's from Hope you enjoy the alterations!

Chapter 1

"Come on Dad!" The young woman said as she scampered down the sidewalk.

"Slow down Sakura," her father laughed. Even at fourteen his daughter was still as energetic and free spirited as a ten year old.

"I want to get there and get back before Kero destroys the pie sitting out to cool," Sakura said.

"You left it out?" Fujitaka asked.

"I had to, there was no room in the refrigerator," Sakura answered. "There are already two other pies and a cake in there. I still can't believe you volunteered to do all these desserts for the staff at the university."

Fujitaka laughed, "This is easy compared the what the culinary professors are working on, I'm just enjoying myself."

"I see," Sakura smiled as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small pad of paper and a pencil. "So what else are we getting again?"

"More crust ingredients, lemons, and some more eggs for the cookies," Fujitaka ticked off on his free hand.

"And Kero asked for blackberries and raspberries," Sakura smiled. "And I'd rather give in to his wants for the healthy stuff rather than all the candy he loves to put away. He's going to be a pudgy Guardian if I don't watch what he puts in that hole in his face."

Fujitaka laughed loudly, ever since the day he'd learned about Sakura's mastery over her Sakura Cards and that he was the other half of Clow Reed's reincarnation, life at the Kinomoto residence had never been the same. The little Guardian Beast was now forever getting himself in the middle of whatever was going on in the house, mostly with what was going on in the kitchen. "I'm sure Yue would love to fire those bullets at him."

Sakura giggled, "I'm sure he would."

There was a crash and an explosion a cross street away that knocked both Kinomotos to the ground. Fire erupted from a back alley as a woman darted out into the now dead stopped street. Dodging behind a car saved her from a bolt of lightning that was thrown at her before she had to sprint away again.

Sakura pulled her father to her feet as the woman closed in on them. She passed right by them, seeing them only as something she didn't want to run into to slow her escape. Sakura recognized the fearful amber eyes they passed by her.

"Ms. Mitsuki?" Sakura stared off in the direction her former teacher had gone before turning back to look and see what was pursuing her. What she found made her eyes go as wide as dinner plate.

Eriol, eyes gone blank, riding atop a white striped and unwilling Spinel, was slowly making his way down the street in the direction Kaho had gone.

"There's no use running, I will find you!" It wasn't Eriol's voice that came from the teenage body, but a deeper, shadowy voice that sent chills down Sakura's back.

"Why do I get the feeling we shouldn't be here?" Fujitaka asked as he took one step backwards.

"You want to blame it on the creepy voice or the fire-bolt he's about to throw at us?" Sakura asked as she scrambled back along the path Kaho had taken, her father on her heels.

"Isn't that the boy who split his magic with me?" Fujitaka asked as they hurried down the street.

"Yes," Sakura said as she panned her vision out around her, looking for a place to hide. A hand shot out from the side of her and shoved her and her father away into the middle of an empty street. The sound of fire hissing on the ground and a small whimper of pain turned their attention back to where they had just been.

Kaho stood slightly hunched over as smoke rose off of a weak shield she had put up. Her face was red, signaling the shield had taken the brunt of the attack, but had given her the equivalent of a nasty sunburn.

"Ms. Mitsuki!" Sakura called out.

Kaho's eyes locked on the girl's, the fire of fear burning in them, "Get out of here!"

"What's going on?" Sakura asked as she released her Star Key and released the Shield Card, giving them some protection as they stood against the brunt of Eriol's attacks.

"Eriol's possessed by a demon, please you must leave," Kaho said quickly. "Please, get away from here and home, he won't attack you if he can't see you. Go now, I can't explain anymore!"

"I'm not leaving you here by yourself," Sakura said stubbornly as she studied her former teacher. She had been thin back when she had been her teacher, but she had been healthy. Now she was rail thin, her usual glowing amber eyes dull and lifeless. Her attire was tattered like she had been in too many fights with no time to recover, and an air about her that defined exhaustion. If the woman were allowed to stay out and fight on her own any more, she wouldn't be around much longer.

"How do you propose we get away without a distraction?" Kaho asked. As she said this a lightning bolt shattered The Shield, zapping them all harshly before throwing them to the ground.

"Oh, that hurt," Fujitaka said as he sat up.

"That was a small one," Kaho said as she stood up quickly. "Take Sakura and get out of here!"

"But…" he didn't bother finishing his sentence as the woman ran straight for the possessed young man.

Sakura watched with amazement as raw magical energy was collected in her teacher's right hand, then thrown straight into Eriol's face in a wide blast, knocking him back and off Spinel.

Kaho landed on the ground and stumbled, nearly falling if Fujitaka hadn't run up and caught her. He turned to his daughter and asked, "Can you get us out of here?"

Sakura nodded. "Loop!" She had the Card loop them to the park where she knew they'd be safe for a while, or at least long enough to call for reinforcements. Without a word to each other, she, her father, and Kaho jumped back into the looped space.

Eriol was on their tail, but with Spinel fighting as he was, Sakura was able to break the loop before the guardian leapt through, leaving it hitting the pavement back on the other street, with the possessed man spitting curses in frustration.

"He cannot be happy back there," Fujitaka said as he stood from the kneeling position he'd dropped into after he'd jumped through. He turned to look at the other two people that had followed. He smiled at his daughter, pleased to find her a little rumpled, but no worse for wear. Just a glance at the woman made alarms go off in his head as he watched her eyes begin to fade. He caught her before she passed and turned to his daughter, "Think Kero would mind coming down here?"

"If he does, then there's no cake for him," Sakura said as she pulled out her cell phone.

OOOO

Her eyes blinked open to an unfamiliar ceiling. She still ached everywhere, but less than usual. Sitting up slowly she took a look around and found herself in a living room laying on a couch.

Reaching out magically, she touched each presence she felt in the house. One was Sakura, one Kero, and the other Fujitaka. She couldn't find Toya's presence so she assumed he was either out on an errand or possibly away at a college. She wasn't sure.

Feeling something bound around her arms and forehead she brought up her left arm to inspect it. To her surprise she found clean bandages wrapped from the palm of her hand all the way up her arm. She found the same on her right arm and assumed a clean bandage job on her forehead.

"So how am I going to get out of here?" She asked to no one in particular. "Coming back here was a stupid idea, now I have them involved…something I didn't want to have them apart of…I'm such an idiot…" She halted her murmuring when she heard footsteps coming in her direction and a door sliding open. She looked up and found Sakura peering at her from the kitchen.

"I was right Dad, she is awake," Sakura said over her shoulder before sliding the door open farther so she could walk in and over to the couch where Kaho sat. Fujitaka followed her at a calm, placid pace, with a warm smile directed at the woman.

"How do you feel?" The man asked her and Kaho felt a shiver go up her spine at the sound of his voice.

"Better," she answered without missing a beat, wondering why she had reacted to his voice that way. "Still ache everywhere, but nothing like it was."

"I'm surprised you were walking around with the burns and wounds you had," Fujitaka said as he posted himself against the back of the couch and looked down at her. "Thankfully what power Eriol gave me allows me to heal a little, giving me the ability to heal your burns down to the equivalent of a sunburn and I closed the slash wounds on your arms."

"Thank you," Kaho said with a small smile.

"No thanks needed," Fujitaka said as he rested his elbows on the top of the couch, "So, think you can stay awake long enough to tell us what's going on with Eriol?"

"I just…" but before she could protest that she had just woken up, she started to feel the want for more sleep nag at her body. She smothered a yawn with the back of her hand and made a face at the grinning man above her.

"Even when Dad heals minor things, like scraped knees, it always makes you sleepy," Sakura said. "A large healing like you just had will make you want to sleep for a while more. But we would like to know what's going on sooner or later."

"I can stay awake for that much," Kaho said and sighed before collecting her thoughts and beginning very bland, censored version of her tale. "…I guess it's been a little over a year now, since Eriol discovered a hidden workroom of Clow Reed's in his manor in England. It had been magically locked and sealed, but all of the bindings had been weakened over time, so Eriol had no problem overriding the locks and opening the workroom. Inside were instruments and books of the like he nor I had ever heard of, all seemingly harmless at the time, but something about the room to me just wasn't right.

"Over the course of a few weeks Eriol began to change," Kaho continued. "He became withdrawn, spending all of his time locked away in that workroom working on…something…

"When he stopped coming out of the workroom to do normal things like eating or sleeping, Spinel, Ruby, and I decided to look into what he was doing." Kaho frowned, "That was our biggest mistake. I opened the door to the workroom and was lucky to not have been sucked in. The room had been turned a dimensional rift that was, in its current state, more like a black hole than a tunnel leading somewhere else.

"This enraged Eriol…or now the demon within Eriol," Kaho explained, "Spinel and I think there was a dormant demon living in one of the instruments or books in the room that sprang to life as Eriol used it. Whatever the case may be, he attacked me, being the first person he saw. Nakuru pushed me away before the attack could hit me, and took it herself." She closed her eyes to try and hide her sorrow.

"It killed her…"

"What?" Sakura asked in disbelief, unwilling to believe that the bubbly Nakuru was no longer alive.

"The attacked killed her," Kaho assured her, "and knocked out the balance of power between her and Spinel. To compensate, Spinel pulled what was left and Nakuru's power into him, melding into the balance of both, which is why you now see him as black and white." She paused in her story to allow them to digest all that she had said.

"The demon in Eriol is now bent on killing all of the people Eriol ever knew," Kaho answered. "Starting with the first person it saw. Thankfully, I think it can only focus it's killing on one person at a time, so I knew I'd be able to get to you and warn you before he decided to try harming you. Which is why I have to leave and get him as far away from you as possible, so maybe, if I can't beat him on my own, it will give you time to prepare yourself before he can get to you." Her eyelids were a lot heavier than she remembered them being.

"You're not going anywhere," Sakura said as the woman's vision began to fade. "We aren't going to let you fight alone anymore."

"But I don't want to…" Kaho murmured as Fujitaka gently pushed her back down onto the couch, "get you involved."

"We'll talk later," Fujitaka told her warmly, "Sleep now." Adding what little magic he knew to his words, Kaho slept.

OOOO

Alucard's Familiar: "First chapter done, yeah I know it's a little rocky, but it smoothes out next chapter I promise ."


	2. Chapter 2

Alucard's Familiar: "Chapter 2 Oh, and as a note, a lot of the dialogue I used is in the style they used when dubbing the second movie, which was AWESOME by the way (Saw it two years ago, own it, and still watch it lame) So if it seems odd, think back on how they spoke in the dubbed version of Card Captor Sakura The Movie 2 and things should be easier to follow. This chapter is a little funny, a little OOC (possibly because we rarely see Kaho as anything but stoic in the anime and manga, which she isn't much of in my fic) and even a little grouchy at some points. But I think it's fun, I gave Kaho a personality, not over the top, normal, but no where near as laid back as she was in the anime/manga."

Disclaimer: "I do not own CCS or any of its characters and I'm not making any money off of this. Though I wish I did own a few of the characters" Devilish grin

EDIT: Fixed some grammar and spelling problems. Thanks to http://community. 2

Kaho awoke again, though this time it was less unfamiliar, but she had to remind herself as to where she was. A presence next to her made her look behind her and to her left to see Fujitaka sitting on the adjoining couch reading.

"Sleep well?" He asked without even looking up.

"Better than I have in a long while I can assure you," Kaho said.

"Sakura and Tomoyo washed and mended your clothes," Fujitaka pointed to the folded clothes sitting on the coffee table.

"Wha…?" Kaho found the sweater and jeans she had been wearing folded neatly next to her, then a thought occurred to her and she looked down to see what she was wearing. It was an overly large and very long white men's shirt and she looked over at Fujitaka with a disturbed face.

"Hey I didn't do it!" Fujitaka defended himself in good humor, trying to hide behind his book, "Sakura and Tomoyo did it while you were half asleep when we brought you back. I'm assuming you don't remember…?" Kaho shook her head, "All right, I swear I didn't touch you…wasn't even in the room…"

"I believe you, sorry for assuming you'd done something," Kaho said.

"Kero get away from that!" Shouted a voice from the kitchen that could have only been Sakura.

"I just wanted a taste…" was the little Kero's reply.

"It's not yours, it's for Dad's Christmas party at the University," Sakura told him firmly. "Here, come with me and Tomoyo to the store so we can pick up what we couldn't earlier and we'll get you something sweet while we're there. How's that sound?"

"Sounds good to me!" Kero said happily.

"All right let me just tell Dad," Sakura said as she slid open the adjoining door. "We're going to the store Dad, and welcome back the world of awake people Ms. Mitsuki."

"She's awake? I want to say hello," came Tomoyo's voice from behind Sakura and the door opened more to reveal a grown Tomoyo. She was taller than Sakura by a few inches and her long black hair was swept back in a simple ponytail. "Hello Ms. Mitsuki, I heard what happened, I'm so glad you're okay."

"Yes I'm all right, and it's good to see you too. You and Sakura have both grown since the last time I saw you." Kaho smiled at both of the girls. "Thank you for mending my clothes for me too Tomoyo."

"Oh you're very welcome, I still can't believe how much blood I got out of them," Tomoyo said, her gaze turning worried. "I really do hope you don't have to go through that again."

Kaho pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on top of them, "Although I'd love to nurse that hope as well, I know it's useless. This will be going on for a lot longer than I wish it to."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Tomoyo frowned.

"You'd best hurry there and hurry back, I don't want you to run into Eriol if you can avoid it," Fujitaka said.

"It's why we're taking Kero," Sakura said, "And the Cards."

"Don't!" Kaho shook her hear quickly. "If you have any need to use them other than to defend yourself against Eriol he will automatically find you through the Cards magical signatures. I'd hate to tell you to go out without them, but it's almost safer to do so. He won't kill you yet, but he finds pleasure in attacking people Eriol knows."

"They should be fine, Kero will be with them," Fujitaka said, "I know he will be protective when he needs to, under all that food want."

"Did you hear that, you father said auf-," Kero started to say, but had his head stuffed back into Sakura's purse.

"Feeding the unwanted fire Dad," Sakura said as she closed her purse.

"Sorry," her father smiled warmly at his daughter. "Be careful and stay together."

"We will," Sakura assured him before she and Tomoyo left the room.

"Think they'll be alright?" Kaho asked.

"They will be fine," Fujitaka replied. "So…would you like to take a shower?"

"Yes!" Kaho nearly lunged at him with glee as they both got up and left the room and Fujitaka laughed heartily.

OOOO

"How long do you think Ms. Mitsuki will be staying with you?" Tomoyo asked as she and Sakura walked down the street.

"I'm not sure," Sakura answered. "When she woke up the first time she said she didn't even want to stay in Tomoeda for fear of letting Eriol get close to Dad and me. I guess she doesn't want us to get hurt."

"She is a very caring person to think of you both like that," Tomoyo smiled at her best friend.

"I'm sure you are also included in the worry too Tomoyo," Sakura pointed out. "I'm sure she didn't mention you because you weren't in her line of sight. She seemed to be working off the very basics by the time we got her to our house, almost like she had a fever."

"Or she was merely plain exhausted," Tomoyo simplified. "If what I'm guessing is true, she's been on the run for quite some time."

"You're probably right," Sakura nodded in agreement as they walked into the store. "I really don't know what to do once she leaves, I don't know where she'll go or how she'll defend herself."

"Is there any reason why she can't stay with you and your father?" Tomoyo asked. "I know something went on with your brother and Ms. Mitsuki many years ago, but now that he's away at college there won't be any tension in the house if she stays for a while." She showed Sakura some raspberries to see if they were good enough for the tarts her father was making, and for Kero's mooching.

"Those look good," Sakura nodded, "And about her staying…I'm not sure. We don't have any spare rooms unless she uses Toya's room while he's gone, but I'm not sure she'd agree to doing that." She absently picked up the eggs and crust ingredients they needed as she thought about it. "She could sleep in the living room…we only really use it when we have guests over, and we don't ever have many of those anyways, so there may be no harm in that." She sighed as they walked over to the check out lines, "I'll probably just have to talk it over with my father and see what he thinks."

"I'm sure he'd agree on having her stay," Tomoyo said. "You're father is very kind. I do believe it is where you get you wonderful kindness from as well Sakura."

"Tomoyo…" Sakura mumbled as the woman at the check out stand rang up her total.

OOOO

"We're home!" Sakura shouted her usually greeting as she entered the house with Tomoyo.

"We're in the living room!" Fujitaka called, "Could one of you come in here a minute and give me a hand please?"

"I need to put these groceries away, can you help him Tomoyo?" Sakura asked.

"Sure," Tomoyo said as she continued down the hallway to the living room. When she entered the living room she gasped at what she saw.

"It's all right Tomoyo, it looks more gruesome than how it feels," Kaho assured her as Fujitaka was cleaning a large cut on her right arm that had opened up and was bleeding freely.

"Oh my…" Tomoyo said as she hurried over. "What do you need me to do to help?"

"Just hold the towel here to catch the blood while I try to close it again," Fujitaka answered, "Unfortunately I'm not skilled enough to bring enough power up into one hand yet so I need to use both to be effective. Having contact with the injured flesh only helps me so much."

"Of course," Tomoyo nodded and changed places with Fujitaka, helping hold Kaho's arm motionless as he began to heal it as much as she could.

Kaho studied Tomoyo as Fujitaka worked. For a girl who never came in contact, or ever should have to, with blood, she was acting perfectly calm. Kaho smiled, almost nothing wavered the girl.

"All right Tomoyo that should be good," Fujitaka said as he took his hands away and gathered up a roll of gauze and bandages and began rewrapping the wound.

"Is everything all right?" Sakura asked as she walked into the living room.

"Just had a wound reopen from water exposure," Fujitaka said, "Nothing major." He finished wrapping Kaho's arm, then walked into the kitchen in time for the timer to go off on the tarts.

"Water exposure?" Sakura was confused.

"I took a shower…" Kaho muttered.

"Oh…" Sakura began to giggle, "All that fuss over the outcome of a shower."

Kaho chuckled along with her, "Yes, but unfortunately I'm still living in one of your father's shirts, the wound opened up as I was pulling on my sweater…"

"And after I finally got all the blood stains out," Tomoyo hung her head.

"Sorry Tomoyo…" Kaho apologized.

"It's all right," Tomoyo said as she heard the phone ring and Fujitaka pick it up. "I guess it couldn't be helped."

"What?!" Fujitaka's surprised voice burst from the kitchen. "Where to? How many people? That many?! Oh…good…yes…yes I know the protocol for this kind of party. Yes…yes I'll see you on Saturday." The sound of the phone being hung up and Fujitaka's exasperated sigh floated into the living room."

"Wonder what happened," Sakura said as she started inching her way towards the kitchen.

"I'm not going to eat you Sakura," Fujitaka said as his daughter peered into the kitchen. He was topping the little tarts with raspberries as though the phone call had never happened.

"Um…who called?" Sakura asked.

"One of my colleagues," Fujitaka answered. "He informed me that the party had been moved to a high class hotel ballroom because the board of every university around Tomoeda will be there. We had forgotten that this year was our turn to host the large gathering…instead of just a small local one like every college does."

"Do you have to make more stuff?" Sakura asked, eyes beginning to bug out of her head as Tomoyo and Kaho came up behind her to peer into the kitchen as well.

"No, what the culinary teachers and I have made will be incorporated with whatever is being catered in," Fujitaka answered. "So I'm just going to finish these up and say that's enough." He sighed as he finished and plopped the rest of the berries in a colander to wash all at once. "Now I just have one final problem…"

"What's that?" Sakura asked as she walked into the kitchen and pulled a bowl out of the cupboard to put the berries in.

"It's part of protocol at these kinds of parties to bring a…ah…guest or friend with you that is not apart of the work force," Fujitaka answered. "Most people just bring their spouses or older children, and if it weren't for the fact that you and Tomoyo have rehearsal all of Saturday, I'd have you to bring. My problem is all the rest of my friends work at the University or it'll be too short notice for them to get down here for the weekend."

"What're you going to do?" Sakura asked as she took the colander from her father and shook it to get the excess water off of them.

"I'm not sure," Fujitaka said. " I could just go alone, but that's a little looked down upon, and I'd get teased." He smiled at that, "I can handle the teasing, but being looked down upon by my superiors isn't something I'd like to be done to me." He sighed, "I'll think of something."

"I know you will," Sakura said as she sprinkled sugar on the berries that she had put in the bowl and set them on the table. Kero instantly dove in and it took a few moments before they could get him fished out. "You're a sanitary hazard when you do that…"

"Hey I'm clean," Kero defended himself.

"Yes, but you're still a fuzzball," Kaho muttered in humor.

"What'd you call me?" Kero asked indignantly as he fluttered over and began to change into his true form.

"Class one fuzzball, you," Kaho pointed at him, not even moving when Kerberos stood snarling before her. Actually, out of all of the things she could have done, she started snickering.

"What's so funny?" Kero asked as he started to hear sniggering sounds from behind him.

"My apologies, please, allow me to rephrase what I had just previously stated," Kaho tried to hold a straight face while keeping up such formal speech.

Kero was wary, "You may…?"

"My apologies oh Great Sticky Kerberos," Kaho said calmly, but the roaring laughter behind Kero killed off the taunting atmosphere quickly.

"That's bett-wait! Sticky???" Kero was puzzled, then looked back at himself and blanched. As little Kero he'd become sticky with raspberry juice, but since his fur was longer in his true form, it had become matted and sticky in various large chunks all over his body, including his wings and tail plume. He immediately resumed his disguise, and with a disgruntled noise, disappeared to the bathroom. By then they were all laughing so hard they had taken refuge sitting at the table.

"Okay, that was very good," Fujitaka commended Kaho on her teasing as he lifted his head from where it had rested on the table and reached over and fished a berry out of the bowl.

"You really gonna eat that after Kero's been wallowing in it?" Sakura asked.

Fujitaka leaned his head back against the top of the chair and laughed as he bit into the berry, a surprised squeak erupted next to him as he did so. He look over in surprised to find Kaho rubbing berry juice out of her right eye. "Oops, sorry about that."

Kaho scowled playfully at him before taking a raspberry and hooking the hollow end of it on the tip of his nose, then squished it, letting berry juice drip down his face like he had a nose bleed.

"Hey!" Fujitaka shouted in surprise at the quick revenge she had taken, wiped the berry remains away with his hand and made to smear it on her face.

All the while Sakura and Tomoyo watched the two, then faced each other with devilish grins. Tomoyo spoke up first, "Um, forgive me for possibly suggesting something Mr. Kinomoto, but why don't you take Ms. Mitsuki with you to the party?"

Both adults stopped their berry war and stared at Tomoyo. Fujitaka then looked over at Kaho, seeing what she thought.

"What? I can't! I…" she tried to think up a good excuse other than she didn't know anyone there. "Do you really want me to wear jeans and one of your shirts?" She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Oh, that won't be a problem," Tomoyo said with a smile.

Kaho looked at her, puzzled for a moment, then she sweat-dropped, "Oh, yes, I forgot who I was talking to for a moment…"

"Would you like to come with me?" Fujitaka asked politely.

Kaho gave him a small smile, "Sure."

"Thank you," Fujitaka grinned widely and stuffed a berry in her mouth. Kaho tried to make a startled noise, but it didn't get passed the rather large berry. She chewed it and swallowed, shuddering.

"What? Sour one?" Sakura asked.

"No, overwhelmingly sweet," Kaho answered. "I haven't had anything like that in a while."

"When was the last time you ate anyways?" Fujitaka asked.

Kaho thought for a few minutes, then hit her head on the table, "I know I ate something on Monday…what was it…?"

"You last ate on Monday?!" Sakura asked.

"I think so…" Kaho pondered.

"But it's Thursday!" Sakura shouted.

"Really?" Kaho was genuinely surprised.

"Yes!" The other three shouted and Kaho set her head on the table and covered it with her arms.

"I'll make us all some lunch…" Fujitaka said as he stood up and walked over to the refrigerator, "Monday…" he shook his head.

"Sorry…staying alive kind of overrode eating," Kaho mumbled.

"Are you hungry now?" Sakura asked.

"Not really," Kaho answered

"She will be when she starts to smell food," Fujitaka said as she started pulling things out of the fridge.

"While we're waiting, would you mind of we went into the living room so I can take your measurements?" Tomoyo asked as she pulled a textile tape measure from her purse.

"Only you would carry a tape measure around in your purse Tomoyo," Kaho said as she stood in answer to the girl's request. Once there though Kaho found herself being measure in every way possible, in every place! By the time the young girl was finished writing everything down the woman felt only a little violated and very much wishing to tie Tomoyo up with her own tape measure.

"Now, what color should it be," Tomoyo stood back and studied the woman. "White would work well on you, but that's just asking someone to walk by with red wine and spill it." Sakura chuckled when that was said. "Hm…something about your complexion right now deters me from gold."

"You mean my wonderful alabaster dead skin tone?" Kaho asked smartly.

"Mm, yes, you need to eat and sleep more," Tomoyo smartly replied. "How about a nice rich scarlet?" She and Sakura obtained their devilish grins again.

"Th-that might be taken the wrong way," Kaho stuttered.

"I suppose you're right," Tomoyo still held her grin as she studied the woman for a little longer. "How about a nice vibrant emerald green?" Sakura nodded in agreement and Kaho did the same, hoping it would appease the girls enough for the moment. It appeared to as they both started babbling about what type of fabric Tomoyo would use as they walked upstairs to Sakura's room.

Kaho watched them go from the doorway of the living room and sighed in relief. She turned around to head back to the kitchen and hopefully some less energetic company, but was startled to find a sandwich shoved into her mouth.

"Lunch time," Fujitaka smiled at her as he handed her her plate with the other half of the sandwich on it. He waited for Kaho to bite off some of the sandwich and chew before asking, "Scared yet?" He laughed as she nodded while she swallowed and took another bite.

OOOO

Alucard's Familiar: "Teehee…I may go back and rework dialogue again later, it still feels a little rough. But other than that I'm fairly pleased with the turn of events going on within the story. If you're curious as to what Kaho's dress is gonna look like, I'll have colored version of it up on my DeviantArt page soon and I'll add the link to it in the next chapter. Reviews are love. Toodles!"


	3. Chapter 3

Alucard's Familiar: "Reupload, it's been proofread and edited...several times."

I own nothing!!! Yeah like that really needed to be stated

Chapter 3

"Did you really have to make the entire thing out of velvet?" Sakura asked as they kicked Kaho into her room and closed the door to allow her to change. It was Saturday evening and Fujitaka and Kaho were getting ready to go to the University's Christmas party.

"Well, I didn't have much left on the skein to begin with, and even if I'd only made pieces of the dress with it, I would have been left with a length what I couldn't do much with," Tomoyo answered. "Making the entire dress out of it leaves me with manageable scrap pieces that I can use for other things. Besides, it'll be warm and it looks beautiful being all one piece."

"I'll take your word for it," Sakura said. She hadn't seen the completion of the dress, only a few stages of the beginning while Tomoyo and been pinning and refitting the dress over the whole day Friday.

With a sigh from Sakura's room the door opened and Kaho poked her head out, "Zip please?" Tomoyo nodded and the woman turned around and Tomoyo zipped up the dress. Once done Sakura could see the dress completely.

"Whoa…" the young teen's mouth hung near her ankles.

The woman who stood before her was completely different from the one they had found two days before. Where the Kaho they'd saved could have been compared to a diamond that had dulled and cracked, this Kaho sparkled like a newly polished emerald. The dress started as a light, skintight turtle neck that melted down to her shoulder and cut off, leaving it sleeveless, then all the way down in a pure, seemingly seamless dress that was cut perfectly at her ankles. The only break in the dress anywhere was a cut out design of a piece of a holly leaf that started at the base of her neck and ended at the starting point of the valley between her breasts.

"There's just one problem Tomoyo," Sakura said, "how are we going to cover up the bandages on her arms?"

"Watch," Tomoyo said as she pulled out what looked like strips of velvet green fabric from the bag at her feet. Carefully Tomoyo unwrapped the woman's bandages and rewrapped them in a lighter wrap. Then she handed over what Sakura thought had been just two strips of velvet, but instead were something like arm warmers. There was one tiny ringlet on the end of each one, connecting the top and bottom pieces and was slipped over Kaho's middle fingers, then the disconnected sleeve was worked gently over her bandage wrapped arms to halfway up her upper arms were they stopped and held.

"They're kind of like gloves, but without the restriction on your hands and fingers," Tomoyo explained as Kaho adjusted the glove like garments, "Originally the dress was going to have sleeves, but we found that they restricted the full movement of her arms. Considering the situations she's been in before, we came up with these arm coverings. Thankfully velvet is a clingy material, so they'll stay up and hide the bandages on her arms as well as keep them warm. And she shows off skin while she's at it."

Sakura looked at her watch, "Well, let's let the emerald sparkle, time to go."

"I'm really getting tired of all the gemstone jokes," Kaho muttered as they all walked downstairs to the living room where Sakura's father was waiting.

OOOO

Fujitaka looked up as he heard footfalls coming towards the living room and smiled as his daughter walked in. Tomoyo walked in after her, but had to turn around to beckon Kaho in.

"Come on don't keep him in suspense," Tomoyo said as she took one of Kaho's hands and hauled her into the living room, shedding light on what the dark hallway upstairs hadn't.

Kaho hadn't realize how large Fujitaka's eyes could get, but she laughed when she watched them turn to the size of dinner plates. But after a moment she felt herself become shy under his gaze and turned away, "Are you ready?" She looked back and eyed the green velvet tie he wore and grinned, knowing Tomoyo had gotten to him as well.

"Oh, yes," he turned and picked three of the half a dozen boxes he'd set on the coffee table, "Sakura could you grab the others?"

"Sure," Sakura said as she picked up the other three and followed her father out to the car. She loaded them up with her father and waved them off as they left.

"Time for practice?" Tomoyo asked.

"Yep," Sakura smiled as they walked back into the house.

OOOO

"There's no one else here," Kaho observed as they pulled up to the hotel.

"Not yet, we're here early because we have to help set up," Fujitaka smiled. "You know, food and such." He pointed to the back where the desserts were hiding in the back of the car.

"I see," Kaho smiled back.

"You don't have to help if you don't feel up to it," Fujitaka said as he parked the car and got out.

"I'll help," Kaho said as she got out and helped him carry in the desserts.

They walked in to the lobby of the hotel and were directed up a flight of stairs to the room they were designated to be in. When they entered the room Fujitaka was greeted by his colleagues festively.

"Did they make you climb up those stairs too?" One asked.

"Yes," Fujitaka said with a little sweat trickling down the side of his face, "Where do we put this?"

"Those are the desserts?" The man asked and Fujitaka nodded, "Over there on that table. Need any help?"

"I'm fine, but please take the other three from my friend," Fujitaka nodded to Kaho, who stood a few paces behind him. "She recently had an arm injury and I don't know how long she'll be able to hold onto that stuff." Kaho let the man take the boxes and sighed in relief. Her arms shook because they ached so badly, something she hid by folding them behind her back and declined offering to help for a few moments before she could move them without the constant tremble.

"So who's your lady friend?" Fujitaka's colleague asked.

"Oh, just an old friend I haven't seen in a few years and she happened to be in town," Fujitaka answered quickly, "I was lucky she decided to come with me, she originally had plans to leave tonight." He smiled at her as she finally walked over to help with the set up. "Right?" Kaho nodded as she helped rearrange the things already on the table to accommodate what Fujitaka had brought.

"You know, compared to the things that were catered, yours look a lot more eye catching," said the man.

"Thank you Fai," Fujitaka smiled, "I hope it all gets eaten, I have a few things that I decided not to bring because I heard this was going to be catered. I've unfortunately run out of room in my refrigerator."

"I know what you mean," Fai laughed. "I have the same problem, but not with the same sort of thing at the moment."

"Can I make the assumption that you are one of the culinary professors?" Kaho asked.

"Your assumption would be correct," Fai turned his blue eyes and smile towards her.

"All the rest of the food has been stored in the kitchen Fai," said a black haired woman as she came up.

"Thank you Yuuko," Fai said as the woman came up. "And I still haven't learned your name," he turned his head back to Kaho.

"Kaho," she answered politely.

"And I am Fai," he bowed to her, "And this is my companion, Yuuko."

Kaho actually turned and studied the woman for the first time and was startled when a child's voice in the back of her mind started asking her if the woman's cleavage was going to eat her. The adult in her quickly took over before she giggled at the absurdity of the thought, "Nice to meet you."

Yuuko, likewise, studied Kaho. A smirk slit itself across her face, "You're going to have to go back, you know. Nothing will get done while you stay here."

Kaho blinked at the woman, "Excuse me?"

"You can't keep running from it. From your fight or your feels." Yuuko's smirk softened to a playful grin, "Nice to meet you!" And with that, she walked off to two people just entering the room.

"That's Watanuki and Doumeki with the centerpieces for the tables," Fujitaka said more for Kaho's information than anyone else.

Kaho stared after the woman, "Why am I all of a sudden very confused?" She asked as one of the young men Yuuko was talking to started flailing about in an obviously distressed and irritated manner.

"Yuuko's like that," Fujitaka assured her.

"You know her?" Kaho asked.

"I've talked to her a few times," Fujitaka said as he steered her towards the dining hall. "The first time I saw her I thought her boobs were going to eat me…" Kaho couldn't help but start laughing, and the ice that had been between them from the start of the evening finally broke. "You had the same impression?"

"Just a little…" Kaho sniggered.

"I still can't believe they got Kurogane to DJ," Fujitaka chuckled.

"He seems very good at it, is he a professor at your University?" Kaho asked.

"Yes, but he's the athletics director and has no real taste for anything else," Fujitaka answered as he looked over at Kurogane, chuckling as the tall man was being teased by Fai and Yuuko.

_Konna ni mo tooku e futari wa kitte shimatte_

_Ano koro no_

_Osanai kimi no hohoemi ni mou kaerenai ne_

Kaho's attention pricked at the sound of the song, "That sounds like Tomoyo's voice."

"Very perceptive," Fujitaka smiled, "It is. She already has one album out in stores and is working on another one."

"I had no idea," Kaho closed her eyes and enjoyed the sweet sound.

_Kimi ga warau sekai ga suki de_

_Soba ni itai, soredake_

_Wasurekaketa itami o mune ni_

"It's why they are rehearsing back home, Tomoyo has a concert coming up on New Years Day," Fujitaka said

_Time goes by_

_Toki no nagare wa futari o kaete yuku keredo_

_Nakushita mono mo yumemiru mono mo_

_Sono te o totte omoidasu yo_

_itsumo kimi no soba de_

"It sounds so beautiful," Kaho smiled as she leaned back in her chair to listen.

"Isn't it?" Fujitaka asked rhetorically, then looked out at the people dancing on the dance floor. To him it didn't feel much like a dancing song, but more like one to sit back and enjoy the sound and feel of the music washing over you and the words playing with the dreams in your head.

_Kanashii koto sae oboete okitai kara_

_Kimi no chizu ni_

_Watashi no tame no PEEJI o nokoshite oite ne_

He looked over at Kaho and smiled at how peaceful she looked, sitting there so relaxed and listening to the music. Completely different from how they had found her only a few days before.

_Mirai kara fukitsukeru kaze o_

_Kimi wa ano hi shinjita_

_Ashita wa motto takaku maiagare..._

"Would you come?" Fujitaka asked.

"To what?" Kaho asked as she opened her eyes.

"To Tomoyo's concert," Fujitaka clarified.

_Time goes by_

_Toki ga sugite mo kitto kawaranu mono ga aru no_

_Todokanai kara, mitsuketai kara_

_Yume no tsubasa o sagashi ni yuku_

_Soba ni ite ne, zutto..._

"If I'm still alive by then, then I'd love to go see it," Kaho answered.

"Still alive?" Her words concerned him.

"Fujitaka, you know very well how this problem could turn out," she was referring to the demon possessed Eriol. "I've gotten to the point where I live day by day, doing what I can and ultimately trying to think of ways to get rid of the demon inside Eriol without killing him."

_Time goes by..._

_Toki no nagare wa futari o kaetteyuku keredo _

_Nakushita mono mo yume miru mono mo_

_Sono te o totte omoidasu yo _

_(la la la la la la...) _

"You and Eriol were once…" Fujitaka started to step into the boundaries of which he wasn't too sure about.

"You mean how I used to love Eriol?" Kaho asked and Fujitaka nodded. "Yes, at one point there was an amazing love between us." She shook her head, "But the minute he started attacking me, by his own will or not, the bond that we had was broken. And though I wish there was some way I could repair it, I don't know if I can trust him enough to see something like this coming again."

"I see," Fujitaka frowned as he realized that she probably didn't have much in the way of trust for anyone anymore.

_Time goes by... _

_Toki ga sugitemo kitto kawareru mono ga aru no _

_Todokanai kara mitsuketai kara yume no tsubasa wo sagashi ni yuku _

_Soba ni iru yo  zutto_

Kaho smirked and changed the subject abruptly, "You know, for a Christmas party this doesn't have much in the way of Christmas spirit."

"Yes, you're right, and they never seem to," Fujitaka chuckled. "You are probably the most in holiday spirit just by the way you're dressed."

Kaho sighed, "That was Tomoyo's brilliant idea."

Fujitaka held his tongue, unsure of how she would react to a compliment.

_Silent night_

_Holy night_

_All is calm, all is bright_

_Round yon mother_

_Virgin and child_

_Holy infant, so tender and mild_

_Sleep in heavenly peace_

_Sleep in heavenly peace_

Fujitaka looked up to the DJ platform and chuckled. The dark athletics director was now tied up near a speaker and Fai was at the controls. He chuckled, "Yes, that would be something Fai would do."

_Silent night_

_Holy night_

_Shepards quake at the sight_

_Glory streams from heaven above_

_Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia_

_Christ the Savior is born_

_Christ the Savior is born_

"How are you feeling?" Fujitaka asked.

"My arms ache for the most part," Kaho answered. "Left one more than my right one, it may have even opened up a little…"

"You want to go check it?" Fujitaka asked. "I don't think Tomoyo would be happy if we came home with a bloody dress."

"We'll do it after this is over," Kaho said.

_Silent night_

_Holy night_

_All is calm, all is bright_

_Round yon virgin_

_Mother and child_

_Holy infant, so tender and mild_

_Sleep in heavenly peace_

_Sleep in heavenly peace_

_Sleep in heavenly peace_

As soon as the music began to fade they made their way out of the dance and over to a secluded area near another staircase. There Kaho pulled off the velvet covers from her arms and Fujitaka carefully unwrapped the bandages, hissing in sympathy as he found the left one had opened and was beginning to bleed again. He quickly got it closed again and rewrapped it and did the same to her right arm. He was thankful that it hadn't opened up again, but did his best to bring the swelling that was making it ache come down as much as he could.

Kaho's head jerked up and her eyes widened, "Oh no…"

"What's wrong?" Fujitaka said and Kaho pointed over to the entry door. He looked over and found a smartly dressed Eriol sauntering in. "Oh no…" He looked back over at the woman, "What do we do?"

Kaho pulled up her right sleeve tightly, "I'll distract him, you try as much as you can to convince people to start leaving."

"Are you crazy?" Fujitaka asked. "He's here to find you, if he succeeds all hell will break loose. Keeping you out of sight is the best idea I think."

"All hell will break loose if he can't find me and _knows _I'm here," Kaho emphasized, "One way or another, we have to get people out of here."

A crashing noise and an explosion made them both dash for the dance hall. Both gasped as they found the dance floor blooming in a gigantic flower of flames while Eriol floated above it laughing maniacally. Fujitaka felt more than saw something go up and over the room, blocking Eriol against the ceiling and leaving the entrance open for people to escape.

"Make sure everyone gets out," Kaho said as she held herself rigidly still, holding up the barrier.

Fujitaka ran towards the back of the hall, then started making his way back to the front, herding stragglers out as he went. Noticing Kurogane was still tied up on the DJ platform he leapt up and untied the man.

"Who ordered the fireworks?" He asked as Fujitaka gave him a hand up.

"Not sure, just get out of here," Fujitaka pushed him towards the exit, then dashed off to look for anyone else. His lungs were on fire by the time he got back to Kaho. "Everyone is out, lets go." He felt whatever it had been forcing Eriol to the ceiling evolve into something more offensive and explode against Eriol.

Kaho regained movement and dashed to the door, Fujitaka at her heels. Running down the marble stairs was difficult when Eriol caught up with them and began raining fire attacks down on them. Fujitaka nearly stumbled as he watched Kaho leap up onto the banister and stood standing as she slid backwards down it, facing Eriol. A bubble formed around the possessed young man and exploded, knocking him back somewhat and allowing Kaho to leap from the banister to the floor with relative ease. With a flick of her wrist she threw a pencil sized magic bolt at Eriol. It grazed the side of his neck; throwing him back farther and actually putting a look of surprise and pain on his face.

He faded from the room shortly after and Fujitaka and Kaho didn't ask questions, just bolted for the car. Once there they were able to stop and breathe, or as much as they could.

Fujitaka coughed as he spoke, "Do you know…where he went?"

"Off to wherever he hides when he's not looking to kill me," Kaho answered as she looked up at him. She took in his slightly charred appearance and, along with the coughing he kept doing, assumed he'd inhaled too much smoke and heat and now feared he had some lung damage.

"Are you hurt?" Kaho asked, trying to see if he'd tell her anything.

"He didn't hurt me, but my chest is burning like the dance floor back there," Fujitaka answered.

Kaho reached her right hand out towards him, hesitated once, then placed it gently against his jacketed chest.

Fujitaka felt the pain and burning in his chest begin to fade a little and looked into her eyes in surprise. "What are you doing?"

"Like you, I can heal," Kaho said, "but the difference is I have more experience in it and I unfortunately cannot heal myself."

Her hand glowed white against his black jacket and the cooling he felt in his chest was heavenly compared to the brimstone heat he had felt only moments before. He exhaled painlessly and swore he could feel the last of the heat floating away with that breath. "Thank you."

Kaho gave him a small smiled, "You'd do the same for me."

"If I could," Fujitaka sighed as he leaned against the van. "You aren't hurt anywhere?"

"Um," Kaho raised her arms up in the dull light of the parking lot. The arm guards she wore were saturated with blood and dripping, leaving dots of the red fluid on the concrete and her dress. "Tomoyo is going to kill me…"

Fujitaka's eyed widened, "Holy…" he looked up at her face, trying to keep his thoughts straight on what to do, "I don't know if I can heal them right now…"

"If you have some extra towels in the van they'll suffice until we get back to your home," Kaho said as her arms began to tremble, the adrenaline that coursed through her body during the fight was apparently beginning to wear off.

"I do actually," Fujitaka as he opened up the back of the van and climbed in, rummaged around for a moment, then climbed back out carrying three towels. He helped Kaho strip off the arm guards and bandages, then wrapped her arms tightly in two of the three towels. The remaining one served as a carrier for the soiled bandages and guards.

Kaho swayed on her feet and actually hit the side of the car as she tried not to pass out from the amount of blood she was loosing.

"What are those wounds from anyways?" Fujitaka asked as he steadied her and walked her to the other side of the car so she could get in.

"Just before I got here Eriol and Spinel cornered me in an alleyway. He's is only halfway under Eriol's demonic control and fights it as much as he can," Kaho explained; then paused as Fujitaka went around the car to get in on the drivers side. "Spinel had pinned me against a wall by my arms using his forepaws. He'd tried to sheath his claws before attacking, but Eriol's control allowed one claw on each side to slip out. These claw marks are the result of both of us trying to get away from each other…"

"And they won't heal. Why?" Fujitaka asked as he started the car.

"My guess is because they were made essentially by the demon's will, and until the demon is killed, that Will will persist, keeping any major wounds I have not physically sewn up open and bleeding," Kaho answered as she leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. "But that's just my guess…I could also be resistant to your healing powers. It's the same as some people being resistant to some medication…"

"Hmm," Fujitaka seemed distressed at the statement, but said nothing other than that for a long while. Both sat in silence as they drove down the dark and amazingly empty streets. When they were near Fujitaka's home did he speak up, "And we can't take you to the hospital to get those sewn up can we?"

"No…" Kaho murmured.

"Why?" Fujitaka asked.

"Because the story of how I was attacked by a demon possessed young man and his winged leopard counterpart sounds like something a child would make up to cover up something he'd done himself, or by someone else…" Kaho answered.

Fujitaka turned that over in his head for a moment, then nodded, "I see." Her frowned, "So, wait, all you can do now is take what healing I can give, then just keep bleeding?"

"Seems that way…" Kaho agreed.

Fujitaka pulled over and stopped the car. He sat there for a moment, his grip on the wheel tightening until his knuckles turned white and the material began to make cracking noises. Kaho looked over at him and found white hot rage covering his face. For a moment she found herself pressing up against the door to try and get herself as far away from him as she could. He had yet to learn that his emotions could harness his powers to actually radiate outward like the sun radiates light and heat.

Kaho finally pulled herself together enough to work her right hand through the thick radiation of power, which burned almost as badly as the fire in the hotel had, and placed her hand on top of his left one. Something came back to his eyes and his expression softened somewhat.

"Please Fujitaka, you have to calm down," Kaho flinched as she felt the skin on her hand begin to blister. She tightened her grip on his hand and whispered, "Please!"

He literally flinched in his seat as he snapped out of his enraged trance and looked at her as if wondering if he had done something wrong. His expression changed slightly as he felt something warm run down his hand and he looked down to watch blood trickle down over the top of his wrist then slide down and drip on the gear shift of the car.

"What the…?" He was confused.

"I'm sorry…that's mine," Kaho pulled her hand away and gingerly rested it on one of her toweled arms.

"Did I do that?" Fujitaka asked.

"It was an accident," Kaho said, "You got angry…and no one has told you yet that your emotions can trigger something like an instinctual attack with your magic. When you get angry like that and have no notion of what you're doing, your power radiates out like heat from a heater and turns you into somewhat like a living fireball…just…without the fire…yet. It's why you see most magic users show either very little emotion, or are always calm or happy. No emotion or positive emotions effect your powers consciously and you have to physically think about using them to do something. Negative emotions trigger your powers unconsciously, doing something along the lines of what you just did. Normally though you'd have to be…extremely angry…to get that way." She looked over at him with a curious look on her face. "What made you so mad?"

Fujitaka sighed quietly as he reached for her burned and bleeding hand, "Just the thought of you bleeding for no other reason than for someone else's pleasure I guess." He turned her hand palm up and rested cool fingers against it, healing the damage he had done.

Kaho looked at her lap, "You barely know me, why would you care?" She regretted it when it came out. It had sounded so harsh and she had not meant for it to. She peeked back over at him from the corner of her eyes and found his expression covered in shadows. "I…didn't mean it like the way it sounded…"

His fingers lightly moved over healing skin, "I know."

Kaho bit her bottom lip, the movement of his fingers on the sensitive skin of her healing hand tickled and soon she realized he was doing it on purpose, "Fujitaka!" A giggle laced the complaint.

Fujitaka chuckled as he finished and pulled away, "Had to get a smile out of you somehow." He started the car up and continued home.

Once they got there they had the fun of trying to sneak in without either Tomoyo, Sakura, or Kero hearing them.

Pulling into the driveway was out of the question because they would be seen through the sliding glass door in the living room, so Fujitaka parked in front of the house to see if they wouldn't hear the front door open. He wisely helped Kaho out of the car, knowing she would be dizzy, then as quietly as they could, they made their way towards the door.

They heard music and Tomoyo's singing come from the live room even before they opened the door. Fujitaka peered inside, making sure the entryway was clear before he beckoned Kaho in after him. They had to move quickly because the song Tomoyo was working on was almost over.

"Follow me," Fujitaka whispered as he headed for the stairs.

Kaho raised an eyebrow at him as she followed. She had never been upstairs for the few days she'd been living with them, except for when she'd been shoved up into Sakura's room quickly, and was curious, though had a fair idea, as to where they were heading.

"Sakura do you have that other music cd we recorded last week?" Came Tomoyo's voice.

"It's up stairs, do you want me to go get it?" Sakura asked.

"I'll get it!" Kero shouted.

"We're done for…" Kaho muttered as Fujitaka slapped himself on the forehead.

"La la la…" Kero sang as he came into view. "Hey! Your dad and Kaho are home Sakura!" Kaho kept herself conveniently turned away from Kero. "Wait a minute, where are you two going?" Kero's eyes took on a mischievous shine.

"N-nowhere!" Fujitaka stuttered.

"Sakura! Your father and Kaho are going upstairs all alone!!!" Kero shouted.

"KERO!" Kaho shouted and made to grab the guardian out of the air.

"What?" Sakura and Tomoyo ran over and were startled at the appearance of the two adults.

In the shadows of the entryway and stairs the dark colors they were wearing had hidden the blood that was splashed over them, but Kero had turned on the light and neither Kaho nor Fujitaka had turned their backs on them quick enough to hide it.

Sakura's eyes widened, "What happened?"

"What do you think happened?" Kaho asked as she gave up hiding and leaned against the corner of the banister facing towards the girls, allowing them full few of the blood soaked towels she had wrapped around her arms.

"Eriol…" Sakura sighed, then gasped as watched Kaho's eyes roll up into the back of her head. Fujitaka caught her before she had a chance to fall, but the heavy blood soaked towels slipped from her arms as they went limp and splattered onto the floor.

"Dammit…was hoping to get her sitting down before this happened," Fujitaka cursed as he picked the woman up and headed for the bathroom.

OOOO

Fujitaka watched her open her eyes and sighed inwardly as he noticed they were glassy and clouded like she had a fever, which she probably did.

"How long have you been at this?" Kaho asked as she felt him rubbing a mild soap into her slashed arm.

"About an hour," he looked at his daughter and Tomoyo for confirmation and received two nods.

"Why don't you just let me die?" Kaho asked.

He heard both the younger girls gasp at the woman's statement. He knew Kaho was probably on a visual basis only, he was the only one in her sights at the moment and she hadn't known Sakura and Tomoyo were there. It was either that, or the woman really didn't care what they heard her say.

"Why would I want to let you die?" Fujitaka asked. He'd been afraid she'd slip into this sort of depression and had actually been surprised when she wasn't depressed when she'd first arrived. Know the consequences of what would occur if she was left alone, he let himself get emotionally closer to her, even if it was just temporary. "Let me tell you a story, all right?" He sighed as her left arm opened up a little under his gentle cleaning and he stopped to heal it again. "When my wife died, I fell into a depression similar to the one you're going through now."

"I'm not depressed…" Kaho muttered darkly, "…just useless."

Fujitaka scowled at her and dropped his normally polite disposition for a moment, "Just shut up and listen to me." He watched a little bit of personality glint into her eyes for a moment before it faded and she fell silent. "When I was depressed, I felt a lot like you're feeling, worthless, being blamed for everything that was happening to everyone else. As though you had no one that cared for you anymore and therefore have no reason to live?"

"Mm, one difference, I have no one who cares for me," Kaho said.

"I said shut up," Fujitaka made sure his gentle strokes with the soap-sudded cloth stung just once to add emphasis to his words.

Kaho flinched, but let her mouth run, "All I do is sit around and do nothing while you and Sakura go out and do things. I can't _do_ anything!"

Fujitaka sighed, knowing that the self abuse she was doing was unconscious, "You can do whatever you feel like," he paused and growled as the end of the wound opened up again. "You stay indoors because Eriol is less likely to attack you when you're here with Sakura and Kerberos. I wouldn't attack either with those odds. You don't do anything because when you _do_ do something, you end up bleeding all over the place…"

"So I'm worthless and messy…" Kaho added.

Fujitaka finally rapped her on the head gently with a wet fist, "And guess what?" She looked at him with a raised eyebrow, having learned her lesson from opening her mouth. "See those two over there?" He pointed over to Sakura and Tomoyo and Kaho looked over at them and made a face. "They care about you." Both girls smiled at her. "Guess what else?"

Kaho looked back over at him.

"I care about you," he smiled and watched as bit more life came back to her eyes as well as a hint of color to her cheeks. He wanted to make sure she knew people were there for her, the thought of waking up one morning to find she'd suicided from mere depression before sense could be knocked back into her wasn't something he wanted to experience. "If you blush you'll pass out…" Fujitaka added to lift the awkwardness of what he'd just stated.

"Guess I better avoid hitting my head," Kaho murmured as her head leaned back against the wall and her eyes fluttered closed again.

"I'm curious as to why you're being so methodical about washing those wounds Mr. Kinomoto," Tomoyo said.

"Kaho and I discussed it on the way home and we came to the conclusion that these wounds aren't going to stay closed for good until we get rid of that demon," Fujitaka answered. "These stay fresh because the demon wills it to, so now we need to make sure that, while working as much as we can to keep them closed for as long as possible, we also have to make sure they don't get infected." He finished Kaho's left arm, made sure the wound was closed, then looked over at the two girls, "So, who's gonna give her a bath while she's passed out?"

"I can bathe myself!" Kaho was awake quickly and sitting up, her face the same color as the towels that had been used to wrap around her arms an hour before.

Fujitaka chuckled, "All right, Sakura will bring you in one of my shirts and pair of sweat pants." And with that he got up and left.

Tomoyo and Sakura watched him leave, then the short brunette tumbled over to the bath to pull out bath supplies.

"Sakura…you don't have to…" Kaho said as she struggled to get up.

"Just stay there, my dad worked hard to get those wounds closed," Sakura almost sounded annoyed. "It'd be a waste to have them open up again."

Kaho blinked before settling back down against the wall to wait for the young girl to finish. When Sakura left to get the clothes Fujitaka had spoken of, Tomoyo spoke up.

"Don't get too upset about their attitudes right now Ms. Mitsuki," Tomoyo smiled reassuringly at her as she turned to face away from the woman to give her a little privacy. "They're just very worried about you."

"I still don't understand why," Kaho said as she carefully removed what clothing was left on her person and wrapped herself in a towel and leaned against the wall for a moment. "I'm more of a stranger to them than a familiar face."

"Everyone deserves to have someone care about them," Tomoyo said as she turned around and studied the woman clad in only a long towel. She was indeed thin and, from the exposed skin she could see, covered in minor scars. "And you are not a stranger to Sakura and me, but more a friend and teacher than I guess you realize."

"Maybe so…" Kaho murmured.

Tomoyo brought over a few towels to wrap the woman's arms in so they stayed as dry as they could, "Unless you do decide you want some help, I'll let you go on with your bath."

Kaho sighed, "Well…" she looked down at her towel wrapped arms.

"Sometimes asking for helping is better and smarter than doing it yourself," Tomoyo said.

"Yes, you're right," Kaho gave the younger girl a small smile.

"I'll wash your hair first," Tomoyo said, "There's blood in it."

"Sometimes I think there's more of my blood outside of my body than in it," Kaho said as she knelt on the floor so Tomoyo could work shampoo into her hair.

"Things will change soon," Tomoyo assured her. "You have people here who care about you."

Kaho stared blankly at the wall ahead of her, "So I've noticed."

"And possibly even an interest in one?" Tomoyo asked as she worked shampoo into the woman's long rusty brown hair.

"I do, though I have no business doing so," Kaho answered.

"Why do you say that?" Tomoyo asked.

"Tomoyo, I am not ignorant of Fujitaka's past," Kaho said. "I know his first wife died when Sakura was three, and I have no business even getting this close to him."

Tomoyo frowned at the woman's words, "I see."

"The only way I know of showing how much I care for both Sakura and Fujitaka is to try and keep them as safe as possible, and of course you too Tomoyo," Kaho added as she angled her head to look up at the young woman, who smiled down at her, "But right now all I seem to do is make things harder for them."

"That's not your fault," Tomoyo said, "tilt your head back please."

"A lot of it is," Kaho said as she did as she was told and Tomoyo carefully rinsed the suds from her hair. "Had I not come back here, they would have never gotten involved."

"Though that's true, if you hadn't come back, we wouldn't know what was going on and, with the only way of finding out would mean you would be dead, I'd take this alternative situation any day," Tomoyo said.

Kaho sighed, "I just wish I didn't feel like such a burden to them right now."

"You're still recovering, give yourself some time to actually heal and regain some strength, then things will be better," Tomoyo said.

"Yeah," Kaho nodded as Tomoyo finished with her hair. She looked up as Sakura came back in with a large white shirt and a pair of black sweatpants. She still looked slightly annoyed and made Kaho want to go back on what she'd just said and get up and do something to make up for being such a pain.

"Dad's fallen asleep and I'm going to head up to bed soon too, Tomoyo you're welcome to stay the night," Sakura said before leveling her gaze on Kaho, "Dad's sleeping like he's had a healing, and he said there was a fire at the hotel."

"He'd inhaled a lot of smoke making sure everyone else had gotten out all right," Kaho said. "His lungs had been burned, so…I made sure that he wouldn't leave you alone."

"So you did heal him?" Sakura asked and received a nod, "So why can't you heal those wounds of yours?"

"I can't heal myself," Kaho answered. "I'm immune to my own healing magic…"

"How convenient for that demon…" Sakura said and Kaho nodded.

"Well, are we done here?" Tomoyo asked and Kaho nodded again, "Then we'll let you soak for a bit. Give us a shout of you need anything."

"Go on up to bed you two, I can get this done and get to bed without making a mess, I promise," Kaho said.

"There's a few extra towels by the couch in case anything happens during the night," Sakura said. "And Dad said not to feel guilty about waking him up if they get bad."

"All right," Kaho said.

OOOO

Alucard's Familiar: "This is soooooo long, if you made it this far you deserve a cookie, I hope it was worth this read I'll have the next chapter up as soon as possible, but please review! You've no idea how low my self esteem is on this piece right now. I want it to be good! Tell me what I need to fix so it's good!"


	4. Chapter 4

Alucard's Familiar: "Has it really been half a year since my last post? My bad… Here's the next chapter. Been done forever, I've just been busy with work and school, expect more updates soon, since the story is all but finished in my computer."

"_Foreign Language_"

Chapter 4

Kaho was awake and re-bandaging herself when Fujitaka wandered into the living room the next morning with a yawn. He seemed surprised to see her tightening the bandages around her left arm with her teeth, it seemed like an almost feral action on her.

"Open up at all last night?" He asked.

"A little, but nothing that needs immediate attention," Kaho said as she allowed him to finish tying off the bandage. "How's your chest?"

"Feels fine, thanks for asking," Fujitaka answered.

"At least I know I can still do something," Kaho smiled a little. "Oh, and…I'm sorry about last night, I wasn't really in my right mind at the time."

Fujitaka chuckled, "You had every reason to feel that way, we all know you've been through enough to possibly be twice as bad. Are you feeling any better?"

"About myself? Not really, but I'm not going to break down into one of those self degrading fits again, not for a while at least." She gave him a pathetic smile, "So what are you and Sakura up to today?"

"We're going to go and pick out a Christmas tree," Fujitaka answered. "Care to tag along?"

"Can I?" Kaho was surprised he'd allow her to go anywhere.

"Of course! Fresh air and sunshine, though it's cold outside, is the best medicine for recovery," Fujitaka smiled, "Right?"

"Yes," Kaho returned the smile.

"Now if I can just get you to eat," he said as he stood and walked to the kitchen.

"I'll just bring it back up," Kaho said.

"Food is another medicine for recovery!" Fujitaka said in a sing song voice.

"Technicolor YAWN!" Kaho stuck with her resistance. "It'd be a waste."

"Ew…" Fujitaka said, "Technicolor yawn…" that got a giggle out of her as she followed after him into the kitchen. "Where did you learn that from?"

"I taught elementary students, don't forget," Kaho pointed out.

"That's right," Fujitaka said as he started the rice cooker, a plan forming in his head. "You taught the small ones."

"I taught your daughter," Kaho said as she sat at the table and rested her chin on her arms. "That all seems so calm compared to all of this."

"I'm sure it had it's excitement," Fujitaka said as he measure out rice and poured it into the cooker.

"More placid than you'd think," Kaho said.

"I'm home!" Came a young male voice from the entryway and both adults blanched.

"You didn't tell me Toya was coming home!" Kaho whispered harshly at Fujitaka.

"I kind of lost track of the time…" Fujitaka mumbled.

"Why does it smell like blood all ov-…hel-lo…" Toya said as he walked into the kitchen.

"Welcome home Toya," Fujitaka said as Kaho tried to make herself looks as small as possible in her chair.

Toya ignored his father greeting and stared at Kaho, "What are you doing here?"

Kaho fidgeted in her seat, unsure of how to answer him.

"For now Toya, she is a guest here," Fujitaka cut in quickly. "And right now I'm really trying to get her to eat something. She hasn't eaten since yesterday morning and refuses to do so."

Toya took a better look at the woman and was surprised to find her extremely pale and thin. Her normally glowing amber-gold eyes were as dull as tarnished bronze and were even a little clouded. "What's been going on Dad?"

"If you help me force this food down her throat I'll tell you," Fujitaka said as he checked on the rice.

Toya studied his father and then Kaho for a moment.

"Deal."

Kaho whined at the prospect of having the two of them force feed her and made her escape, darting into the living room to get away.

"Hey! That's not fair you had a head start!" Fujitaka said as he followed her, "Toya dish out some rice for me please!"

"Sure," said the younger man as he walked over to the cooker and waited for the timer to go off. He chuckled when he heard a loud thud followed directly by an 'oof' from Kaho and figured his father and nimbly knocked the woman over and was probably sitting gently on her back to keep her from moving.

"You know people could get the wrong idea from this," Kaho growled.

"I'm not worried," Fujitaka chuckled.

Toya walked out with a small bowl of rice a few moments later and started laughing at the position the two were in. Kaho was flat on her back with Fujitaka straddling her hips and pinning her arms to her side. The woman was stuck and voiced her disapproval of the situation by spitting curses in English at them.

"You do realize I can understand all of those," Fujitaka smiled as he took the bowl from Toya.

"Good then understand this one!" Kaho went off into a somewhat vulgar string of words until Fujitaka shoved a chunk of rice in her mouth.

"Ah, silence, so, what's going on?" Toya asked as he sat by Kaho's head to aid in getting her mouth open every so often.

"Remember that young man that shared his powers with me a few years ago?" Fujitaka asked and received a nod. "It seems after working in a newly discovered work room back in England he was possessed by a demon that is now bent on killing all of the people Eriol ever knew, starting with the first person it saw," he looked down at Kaho who was trying to avoid the next chopstick full of rice. Toya tickled Kaho just under the corner of her jaw and she giggled, opening her mouth just wide enough for Fujitaka to pop in the next mouthful.

"So she came back here?" Toya looked down at Kaho. "I thought you'd be strong enough to be able to handle something like that."

Kaho swallowed and dodged the next chunk, "I would have if I hadn't been taken by surprise and hurt like I have been. But I also have the problem of the type of demon it is. Not only has it just possessed Eriol's body, but it's assimilated with him to the point that whatever happens to it, happens to Eriol as well. So until I can successfully extract the demon from Eriol I can't do anything to it without hurting him."

"You still care about him after all of this?" Toya asked.

"No, that part of our bond is gone unfortunately, but I still can't bring myself to hurt him," Fujitaka took his chance and shoved another mouthful between her teeth.

"Okay, next question, why does it smell like blood in this house!" Toya asked.

Fujitaka gave his son a serious look, "It's neither mine nor Sakura's so rest easy on that." He looks down at Kaho with a frown.

"I'm fine…" Kaho mumbled after swallowing.

"So says the woman who passed out twice yesterday in the span of two hours," Fujitaka said as he got more rice in her mouth.

"Mmmf…" Kaho grunted.

"Could you heal her?" Toya asked.

"A little. The wounds are old, but they stay fresh and bleeding because the demon wills them to," Fujitaka said. "I can only keep them closed for a few hours at a time so we have to make due with tight dressings and frequent bandage changes."

"And lots of laundry," said Sakura as she walked into the living room, Tomoyo following. (A/N: She loves sleeping over, can you tell? Lol!)

"So that's why she's wearing your clothes," Toya smirked, "And I was going to take that in another direction." Kaho made a distressed noise at his comment and shook her head.

"No Toya, nothing like that," Fujitaka assured him as he force the last of the rice down Kaho's throat. He handed the bowl off to Toya who took it into the kitchen and released Kaho's arms.

She scrubbed some of the stray grains of rice that had stuck to her face in her struggle and looked up at him, waiting for him to let her up. He chuckled as he did as she wished and she sat up with a sigh.

"Relax for a while, to make certain that what I just fed you i _stays /i _ in you," Fujitaka said.

"Fat chance," Kaho mumbled as she toddled over to the couch and plunked down on the side she'd unintentionally claimed as her bed.

"Why do you keep bringing up what you eat anyways?" Sakura asked.

"Too much for my system to handle," Kaho answered. "Along with keeping myself free of infection, trying to heal itself, and keep me going at the same time, you'd assume I'd be packing in the calories, but unfortunately my body has just gotten confused on what's what. Hopefully what your father so nicely forced into me is bland enough so my stomach doesn't have to work to hard to keep it there."

"If it does stay there, be prepared for me to do it again," Fujitaka poked his head into the living room with a wicked grin.

"_Sick bastard,"_ Kaho murmured.

"More dirty language? I'm beginning to think you don't like me," Fujitaka chuckled and Kaho made a face at him.

"What'd she say?" Sakura asked.

"Nothing you need to know," Toya said, having caught the gist of Kaho's cursing.

Sakura scowled at her brother as she stomped into the kitchen. They began to bicker over something, causing everyone else to chuckle.

OOOO

Alucard's Familiar: "If you find anything wrong grammatically or spelling wise, please let me know. I'll update soon."


	5. Chapter 5

"_Foreign Language"_

_Telepathy/Personal thought _ You'll be able to tell which is which, I promise

Chapter 5

Her vision was blurry when she opened her eyes, and she had absolutely no idea where she was for a moment or how precisely she'd gotten there. She shivered slightly at the cold the bit through her entire body before she realized there was a heavy blanket covering her. Unconsciously she wrapped it tighter around her and closed her eyes again, still shivering.

A warm hand caressed her cheek and she latched onto it with her right hand, holding it there as though she'd be able to glean the heat from it to warm her whole body.

"Cold?" Asked a male voice and Kaho managed a nod. She heard more murmurings that her fevered mind couldn't understand, and a few seconds later she felt another blanket being wrapped around her. Slowly, it felt like an eternity, she started to warm up and slipped into a dreamless sleep once again.

Some time later, she wasn't sure how long, she woke again, nowhere near as cold and more alert than she'd been before. Opening her eyes held another improvement, she could see clearly and she knew where she was. Though how she'd gotten back into the Kinomoto living room was unclear to her, her mind was on something different, namely, what was all the noise about?

Sitting up and looking around drew her gaze over to a large Christmas tree in the corner behind the couch.

"Welcome back," came Fujitaka's voice and she turned to see him walking in from the kitchen. "And Merry Christmas."

Kaho blinked in confusion, the last time she'd been conscious it had been three days before Christmas and she rubbed her head and asked, "How long have I been out?"

"Three days," Fujitaka confirmed her mind's question. "When we got back from getting the tree you came down with a fever that stayed fairly high for two of the three days. It slowly came down yesterday as we were going to bed. Do you remember any of it?"

"I remember someone touching my cheek and me feeling really cold," Kaho thought back, but almost everything was blank.

"That would have been sometime yesterday morning just before your fever began to recede," Fujitaka said in recollection. "You peaked at 105 degrees Fahrenheit before you finally started to come down." Kaho's eyes widened at the news, "Your body was making sure it didn't catch any infections while it shut down for a while."

"I guess..." Kaho smiled sadly, believing her fever to have come up for different reasons.

"You needed it," Fujitaka said, he noticed the sadness that crossed her face, but decided to overlook it for the time being. "We were lucky too, your wounds rarely opened, I think maybe just once…"

"Merry Christmas Kaho!" Sakura said as she popped up behind the couch and startled the woman.

"Uh…Merry Christmas to you too," Kaho stumbled over her words for a moment as the situation became strangely uncomfortable for her.

Sakura smiled and giggled, "I'm glad you're getting better, you really started to scare us." Kaho merely smiled at the girl, who went back to doing something near the tree. She looked up as Toya entered the living room and gave him a tentative smile in greeting.

"So you finally decided to wake up huh?" The young man asked her and Kaho made a face at him

"Toya, could you help me in the kitchen for a moment?" Fujitaka asked as he made his way back through the door.

"Sure," Toya nodded and followed his father.

Kaho decided to make a get away, using a rarely used power to get her up onto the roof quickly and silently. There she sat near the top of the roof that faced the gate close to Sakura's window for a while, letting the cool December breeze blow away whatever weariness she had.

Something warm and dark settled onto her shoulders sometime later and she looked up to see Fujitaka looking down at her, having settled his winter coat around her.

"So this is where you've been hiding out," he said as he took a seat next to her.

"You guys needed your family time," Kaho said as she pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "It didn't seem like a place for me to be in right now."

"I see," Fujitaka said as he looked down at the ground below before he looked up at the sky. "Is it really smart for you to be sitting out here all by yourself?"

"It's all right, as long as I don't move around, I can shield myself from Eriol's detection," she gave him a crooked smile. "I'm not very good at shielding, so I have to be holding still. It did me little good while on the run..."

"I see," Fujitaka nodded. "That explains why you had to do only that to keep Eriol still during the Unverisity's Christmas party

"Right, except I'd bent the idea a bit and used the shield as more of a containment device or...force field..." she added a bit a groan to that word, proving that she disliked the science fiction term. Fujitaka gave a laugh, grasping her meaning.

"You didn't have to you know," Fujitaka said after a moment of silence, referring to her flight from the living room, "You're welcome to be apart of this."

Kaho made a noise of disbelief, "Even after all the trouble I've caused you and your family? I should think you'd be happy to be rid of me."

He shook his head, "It's not really your fault. You came here to warn us, and in thanks I think it's only fair that we help you out."

"You've done more than enough to repay any service I've ever done for you, if I've ever done any at all…" Kaho said. "I feel as though all I've done since I got here was be a burden to you and Sakura, and now Toya depending how long he stays."

"He'll be leaving tomorrow, unfortunately," Fujitaka answered. "He has a paper he needs to finish before class starts up for him soon."

"And when does your work start up again?" Kaho asked. "I know you're a professor at the college near here."

He nodded, "Yes, but my college doesn't start back up for another three weeks."

"I see," Kaho said. "I hope to be out of your hair before then anyways, so you'll be able to enjoy some of your vacation before it's over."

Fujitaka was silent at that statement and mulled over a few things in his head before he asked, "Do you intend to take Eriol on all by yourself?"

"I'd prefer to," Kaho answered. "It would put as few people in danger as possible….The only life I'd be risking by doing it myself would be my own. And I was alone for so long that I can only think about doing this all myself. I don't want you or Sakura to be involved anyways. I couldn't stand seeing either of you hurt because of me, or because of something I couldn't prevent."

"And how do you know we'll let you get away with that?" Fujitaka asked, for the moment hiding his surprise at her concern for their welfare.

"What do you mean?" Kaho asked.

"How do you know we'll let you go off on your own after all of this?" Fujitaka asked.

She stared at him for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"Kaho, believe it or not, in these passed few days, no matter how quickly they've gone by, you've become a part of this family in some way." Fujitaka said as he looked her in the eye, "And I don't know if you've been apart of a family like this before, but for us, no one is ever allowed to do something by themselves as long as there is something the rest of us can do to help."

Kaho looked at him in surprise, "I…I don't know what to say."

"Well, agreeing not to go off by yourself and do something reckless would be good enough for starters," Fujitaka grinned smartly.

Kaho sighed, "All right, I promise I won't go off and do things on my own anymore, or insist on doing so at least. You and Sakura have had pretty tight reins on me since I arrived here."

"It's good for you," Fujitaka smiled. "Besides, it looks like you need a friend right now."

"A friend?" Kaho asked.

Fujitaka nodded, "And possibly a hug, you look as though you're in need of one of those too."

She blinked at him, the concept of physical affection, something she'd been deprived of for a long time, was an action she was out of practice with. It wasn't helping matters much that her heart was fluttering like a butterfly every time he spoke, or looked her in the eyes and smiled. She felt a blush lightly dust her pale skin at the offer and turned her gaze to stare at the roof instead.

Fujitaka tipped an eyebrow up at her reaction to his offer and a different smile crept over his features. Without hesitation, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him, mindful of the slope on the roof, then carefully wrapped his other arm around the front of her in a somewhat awkward sideways hug. Resting his head against the back of her left shoulder, he felt her trembling and said, "It's all right, relax, I'm not going to hurt you."

Stilling herself, she began to relax in his warm embrace, leaning her head against his arm in an unsure show of mutual affection.

"Hello up there!" Called a high spirited young voice.

Both Fujitaka and Kaho jumped apart and, while steadying themselves, looked down at the gate where Tomoyo and her mother stood, the young girl waving enthusiastically. "Merry Christmas!" She called.

Fujitaka chuckled as he stood and walked down the side of the roof and over to where it stemmed out over the front door and hopped down to the ground. "Merry Christmas Tomoyo, and to you too Sonomi. Will you be joining us as well?"

Sonomi smirked, "No, I just came to drop Tomoyo off. From what she's been telling me, being outside by ones self isn't the safest thing right now."

Fujitaka rubbed the back of his head with an innocent laugh, "I'm sure Tomoyo will be fine, she's not a target anyways."

"Be that as it may, I still wanted to make sure she got here safely," Sonomi said as she watched Kaho come up behind Fujitaka. "And you must be the one who brought that demon possessed boy here aren't you?"

"I…" Kaho frowned.

"Now now Sonomi, her intentions for coming here were strictly to warn us," Fujitaka explained. "It's really mine and Sakura's fault for her staying here so long. The injuries she has don't make her fit for travel or fighting, so we've kept her here so she can heal."

Sonomi snorted, "Which also isn't working I hear."

"That's not anyone's fault Sonomi," Fujitaka said. "Her wounds stay open by the will of that demon and we're doing everything we can so Kaho doesn't fall victim to them."

Sonomi's eyes narrowed, "That's just like you, always being kind, even to people you don't even know.

Fujitaka smiled, "Can't help being who I am."

"Hm, yes, and you're despicable," Sonomi said as she kissed her daughter on the top of her head before walked back over to her car without another word.

Kaho ventured to say something, "Um…"

"Don't worry," Fujitaka said as he opened the gate and let Tomoyo scamper up and into the house. "That was Sonomi's way of being nice."

One of Kaho's eyebrows twitched, "Really?"

He nodded, "Yes, she had a special dislike for me ever since Nadeshiko and I met and fell in love. I guess you could say she's jealous for the years I was able to spend with Nadeshiko before she died. But Sonomi really is a nice person, she loves and adores Sakura like a daughter."

"I see," Kaho said quietly.

Fujitaka peered back over his shoulder towards the house for a moment, then looked back over at her, "I do believe we were interrupted." He held out his arms to her, offering her the hug he had tried to give her on the roof.

Kaho studied him for a moment, her mind doing battle with the war raging in her heart, "Fujitaka…" she started, "I…I mean…" She looked down at the ground as she pulled the collar of his coat closed around her.

"Yes?" He asked, smiling warmly.

She bit her tongue and moved into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders and hugging him tightly, for a moment letting herself relax and forget about all of the horrible things that had happened and what would soon happen in the future. When she felt him hug her equally as tight her heart soared, but again she held her tongue, feeling as though she had no business caring about him as deeply as she did.

OOOO

Sakura, Tomoyo, and Toya squashed their faces into the small vertical windows next to the door as they watched the goings on outside.

"I knew it," Toya said.

"What? That Kaho and Dad care about one another?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah," Toya scowled.

"I think they look cute together," Sakura grinned.

"It's a shame though that neither will tell the other how they feel," Tomoyo said as she angled her camera against the glass. "They both have their reasons for it I guess."

"Because Dad is loyal to Mother," Toya said.

"Yes," Tomoyo nodded, "And Kaho knows that and feels she has no business feeling the way she does."

Sakura frowned and Toya grunted.

"You seem a little resistant to the situation Toya, does this trouble you?" Tomoyo asked.

"Yes…" Toya answered. "It troubles me. I'm afraid she'll do the same as she did to me six years ago. Realized that she and I weren't meant to be together, then left." He frowned and narrowed his eyes, "I don't want my father to feel the same way I did."

Tomoyo frowned for a moment before adding, "I don't think anything like that will happen, at least not until after this whole problem's been taken care of. Kaho is pretty much bound here because of her injuries, and even if she tries to leave, Sakura and Mr. Kinomoto will make sure she doesn't." She grinned at Sakura. "But I do see your concern. I think right now we should just rely on the idea that they won't tell each other."

"Hmph," was Toya's reply.

Sakura watched her father and Kaho pull away quickly before they both sneezed and she giggled. "I think they know we're talking about them."

"Then we need to hurry up," Tomoyo said. "You need to help me put up a few more decorations."

"Okay," Sakura grinned and followed Tomoyo back to the living room.

Toya watched them go before turning to look out the window for a few more seconds, "Not tell each other? In the end, it may be the only thing that saves them."

OOOO

Both stood back and stared at one another, slightly embarrassed that their embrace had been ended by a simultaneous sneezing fit.

"Guess someone's been talking about us," Fujitaka said as he rubbed his still tingling nose.

"It's either that or we're allergic to one another," Kaho said with a coy smile.

"Unlikely, I break out in hives when I'm allergic to someone," Fujitaka jested, getting a small chuckle out of her.

Still chuckling she looked up at him, "Is that so?" She would have continued the jest, but a figure appeared behind the man and she swallowed her tongue, taking a step back in the process.

"Something wrong?" Fujitaka asked.

"Um, there's someth- one…" Kaho tripped over her words. "Someone behind you."

"Oh?" Fujitaka turned slightly and came eye to eye with his late wife, "Oh, hello Nadeshiko."

"Hello love, I see you're well." The spirit smiled. "The last time I dropped by you were in a dead sleep and I was worried. I'm glad to see it wasn't serious."

"You must be talking about what happened a little over a week ago," Fujitaka smiled. "It was a healing sleep, or at least the aftermath of. There was a fire at the hotel the University was holding its Christmas party at and I inhaled a lot of smoke and burned my lungs. Kaho saved me from a painful recovery."

Nadeshiko redirected her gaze to Kaho, "Really? Well then I thank you for helping my husband."

"Uh…you're welcome…it was the least I could do after all he's done for me," Kaho said as she looked at the ground with another faint blush.

Nadeshiko noticed the reaction and smiled, "I see."

Fujitaka quickly recapped the events that had transpired since Kaho had arrived and the story behind it. When he was through Nadeshiko studied them both before saying, "I thank you for coming to warn my family."

"It was nothing," Kaho said, even though it was the understatement of the year. The journey back to Tomoeda had hardly been nothing. "I fear I've caused them more trouble since I've arrived than when they knew nothing of this."

"Now we've been over this," Fujitaka started.

"I know," Kaho said. "And I still feel I should just leave, but since I promised I wouldn't, I need to find a way to repay you."

"Why don't you do what you do best," Nadeshiko suggested.

"What's that?" Kaho asked.

"Teach," she clarified.

"Teach…?" she was puzzled for a moment, then her eyes lit up, "Oh."

Fujitaka blink, "Now I'm confused."

"I'll teach you how to use your magic," Kaho told him.

"Really?" His eyes lit up like hers at the thought of the idea.

"Of course," Kaho smiled. "Thank you for the idea." She looked over at Nadeshiko.

"You're very welcome," Nadeshiko mirrored her smile. "I'm glad you two seem to get along well."

"Except when it comes to her eating habits," Fujitaka mentioned. "Or lack thereof."

"Well how do you expect me to keep such a girlish figure?" Kaho jested as she spun around, flaring out the ends of Fujitaka's coat.

"You mean the half starved 'I look like I'm about to die' figure…" Fujitaka correctly identified her current condition and Kaho stuck her tongue out at him.

Nadeshiko chuckled, "I'm sure you'll both come up with something to fix that."

"Or I'll just pin her to the floor again," Fujitaka grinned.

The spirit giggled, "I should be going soon."

"You can't stay longer?" Fujitaka asked as she encircled her arms around his shoulders. "It's Christmas after all."

"I would love to stay longer, you know that, but I'm only given so much time for each visit, and I'm beginning to reach my limit for this one." Nadeshiko explained, "I'm just glad I was able to speak to you." She hugged him.

Kaho smiled at the two of them, happy seeing two people who loved each other so dearly together for a time. It made her realize how lonely she was and she wished she could go and leave them to be with each other for a few more minutes, but she felt it was inappropriate to also walk away at the same time.

_You truly care for him don't you?_

Kaho nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of Nadeshiko's voice inside her head. She collected herself quickly and responded, _I do, though I have no right to infringe on what you and he have._

_I'm not a jealous person,_ Nadeshiko said, _Nor did I wish for Fujitaka to spend the rest of his life without a companion._

_He has Toya and Sakura,_ Kaho said. _And he still loves you. I don't think he'd turn his back on you just because you cannot be together like you were before. And now, because he can see you and interact with you again, it gives him all the more reason to stay loyal to you. It's why I have no business being here._

_But you can protect him in ways I cannot, and in ways that Sakura isn't ready for yet,_ Nadeshiko pointed out._ The battles that are in store for you are of the like Sakura would never fathom, or wish to fathom. It will involve inflicting pain on others, much blood shed, and even leaving someone behind in the end._

_You know this…how?_ Kaho asked.

Nadeshiko smiled, _I have my ways. _There was a short pause as she said something vocally to Fujitaka before separating from him and floating over in her direction. _I will see you again soon, and I hope on different terms._ And with that, the spirit disappeared.

Kaho blinked, now more than ever torn on whether to tell Fujitaka her feelings, or let them lie. She truthfully didn't know how Fujitaka felt about her, though he'd said he'd cared, she wasn't sure if it was in the friendship sense of the word or beyond.

"I think we should go in," Fujitaka said as he looked up at the sky, dark clouds beginning to cover the once blue area. "Or with our luck, we'll be soaked."

"That might be a good idea," Kaho said as they both headed for the door as rain began to fall from the sky. Once inside they realized how cold it had been and relished the warmth of the entryway before heading for the living room to sort out the cause of all of the giggling.

Before they reached it though, Toya pulled Kaho halfway up the stairs to the second floor and blocked her path back down. The look in his eyes was that of warning, "You had best not pull what you pulled on me all those years ago on my father."

Kaho frowned, "I'd never, and it's not like I'm going to tell him anyways. It wouldn't be right…"

"No, you'll tell him," Toya confirmed, though no longer possessing the magical gifts he once had, he still held onto something of a sixth sense, a small knowledge of certain things that were meant to happen. "You'll have to, to get through your fight."

Kaho narrowed her eyes at him, "I assure you I never intend to hurt him, nor did I ever intend to hurt you Toya, and you know that."

His gaze softened, "I know, it just didn't make your leaving any easier. And if that happens to you and my father, I don't think I'd be able to forgive you again."

"I understand," Kaho said. "Both your unwillingness to forgive, and your resistance to all of this. It is awkward…but like I said, I'm not going to be telling him, so it doesn't matter." She shouldered passed him and down the stairs.

"You will tell him," Toya said.

Kaho paused once, then continued down the stairs.

"Be careful, Tomoyo and Sakura put up mistletoe," Fujitaka said as Kaho entered the kitchen where he was warming up apple ciders.

Kaho looked over the doorways and found three pieces of mistletoe, one over the entrance to the living room from the hallway, one on the connecting door to the living room and kitchen, and another over the kitchen doorway, the one she'd bypassed without knowing it. "I won't tell if you won't."

"_I didn't see nuffin',"_ Fujitaka said in English, the phrase amusing and made its point and Kaho chuckled.

"So how are we supposed to get into the living room?" Kaho asked.

"Run in when they aren't looking I suppose," Fujitaka answered.

Kaho looked out into the living room and waited until all three, or four if you wanted to count Kero, occupants were interested in something near the tree and hopped in, no one but Fujitaka catching under the mistletoe for that brief second. And as he had said, he wasn't going to tell.

Kero looked up and whined, "Hey how'd you get in here?"

"I walked…" Kaho answered dumbly.

"Aww…and we didn't catch you in the act," he pouted.

"_Who'd wanna kiss me anyways?"_ Kaho asked to no one in particular in English, knowing no one, except possibly Kero, and Fujitaka, would understand her. "What are you doing over there anyways?"

"Trying to guess what's in the boxes," Sakura answered.

"I see…" Kaho chuckled.

"Is it safe?" Fujitaka asked as he peered into the living room.

"They seem intent on their mission," Kaho answered as she stared at the black TV screen, giving him access to the living room without seeing him pass under the mistletoe.

In the melee of the younger people opening gifts and people wandering back and forth to the kitchen, Fujitaka was caught first under the mistletoe by his daughter as he was going back in to get the now hot cider, giving him a peck on the cheek. He hid in there for a while and waited for the cider to cool to a drinkable temperature.

Meanwhile, Toya caught Tomoyo as she tried to run up to Sakura's room for something and gave her a chaste, but affectionate kiss on the forehead. Sakura also caught Tomoyo again going into the kitchen to try and weed out Fujitaka and received another kiss, this one on the cheek, which filled the young woman with much joy.

"Looks like Tomoyo is getting caught in her own trap more than anyone else is," Kero giggled as Toya was caught under the mistletoe by his father, who instead of giving him a kiss, blew a raspberry in his ear.

"Ew…now I have to go get spit out of my ear," Toya rubbed his ear and darted out of the room faster than anyone could pin him for passing under the mistletoe.

After the initial obsession with catching people under the dreaded Christmas weed was over, most of the family settled down to open gifts and relax. Sakura was the unfortunate victim of being covered in all the bows, ribbon, and even the paper that was pulled off the gift boxes.

Kaho stood near the kitchen door, away from the entrance, and watched the evening wear on, smiling at the antics of the family before her. She giggled as Fujitaka stood up and bolted to the kitchen, knowing still that the family would try and catch him for being under the plant if he didn't hurry. She watched him pour another mug of hot cider, then add water to it and her curiosity perked. She knew all of the people in the room enjoyed their apple cider plain and not watered down, it was apparent because most of the were on sugar highs and bouncing off the walls.

"Here," he said as he handed her the mug awkwardly, avoiding stepping out of the kitchen while she stayed in the living room. She raised an eyebrow at him as she accepted the mug. "I noticed you barely touched the mug of cider I gave you earlier and finally realized it was probably too sweet for you to handle, right?"

She smiled as she looked down at the mug of liquid that was warming her hands, "Yes, it would have made me sick if I'd braved it out and drank it like the rest." She motioned to the hyperactive young teenagers. "I thought you wouldn't notice if I just tried to sip at it now and again."

"Nope, nice try though," Fujitaka smiled as she sipped the warm beverage, testing it as she let it settle in her stomach. She nodded after a minute and smiled at him again in thanks. "I actually have something else for you upstairs, but I thought it might be little awkward to give it to you like this."

Her eyebrows knitted together, "Why did you waste you're money on me?"

"Wasn't really a waste, and it'll make it so you won't have to keep wearing my spare shirts and sweats," Fujitaka smiled.

"Aw, but you're shirts are so roomy!" Mindful of her drink, she did a goofy little jig, letting his shirt billow out for a moment before settling back against her body as she leaned against the door jam with a grin.

"I'm sure you'll like normal women's clothes better than mine," Fujitaka said.

"You like women's clothes?" She couldn't resist the opening.

"Yes, wait…what? No!" Fujitaka covered his face with his hands at being caught in the joke.

Kaho laughed, "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist."

"I can tell…" Fujita mumbled from between his hands before he slid them away, "Ah well, I walked into it. Anyways, yes, so your new clothes are sitting up in my room and I'll bring them down later for you, okay?"

Kaho nodded, goofiness having disappeared for the moment, "Yes, and thank you. I wasn't expecting it. I'll find a way to repay you as soon as I can."

"Just think of it as an extra magic lesson," Fujitaka waved off her offer of repayment with a grin.

"I guess I can deal with that," Kaho mirrored his grin with her own.

"Oh, and by the way, you've stood under it to the point where I can't say you didn't," Fujitaka mentioned.

"Huh?" She was puzzled for a moment, then she felt the blood drain from her face as she looked up, realizing only then that instead of settling against the door like she'd originally intended, she'd settled on the inside of it, leaning against the door jam. She looked up at the mistletoe and swallowed. Then at the thought of what would happen next reached her mind all of her color returned quickly, plus some, adding a faint red tinge to her cheeks.

"I caught Kaho under the mistletoe!" Fujitaka announced and Kaho whined as the rest of the living room's occupants turned to watch, some of them having great big grins plastered on their faces while another merely looked like he was going to be sick.

"Kero if you're going to be immature about it then leave," Sakura scolded the guardian as Tomoyo scrambled for her video camera while Toya, though as against the idea of a possible relationship forming between the pair, couldn't resist grinning at the surprised look on Kaho's face.

"Tomoyo do you have to…?" Kaho looked pathetically at the camera.

"Of course, I have to capture everything that happens at this Christmas party so I can add it to my video collection," Tomoyo smiled, then giggled obsessively.

"You need a new hobby…" Kaho mumbled to herself, then realized how close Fujitaka was and had to catch herself before she dropped her mug of cider. The light blush that had dusted her face before darkened noticeably to the onlookers, who chuckled to themselves.

"We can kidnap her camera later," Fujitaka promised and Kaho was surprised to find a similar blush was creeping across his cheeks as well.

She didn't remember when his hands had settled onto her shoulders, or the last time her heart had been racing as fast as it was, and she was sure though that people could hear it. She wasn't sure when her eyes had fallen closed either, but when their lips finally met tentatively, she felt like she'd been zapped with electricity. Her hands tightened around the mug of cider so she wouldn't drop it and the blush on her face exploded, the temperature in the room for the both of them sky rocketed.

The kiss was innocent enough, barely a brushing of the lips, but it lingered there for a moment, giving it the illusion of possibly something more. But it was no more romantic than the one Toya had placed on Tomoyo's forehead, chaste but affectionate in its own right.

When it finally ended, Kaho's eyes opened instantly and she swallowed hard and bit her tongue to keep herself quiet. For reasons she couldn't explain, she felt herself panic and did the only thing she could think of, set the mug of cider on the dining room table, then phase outside like she had earlier that afternoon. There she stood in the front yard in the pouring rain, allowing the icy water to cool the burning sensation she was feeling inside and letting it numb the panic sense she'd felt only moments before.

"What was that?" She asked to no one but herself. She touched her fingers to her lips as she looked at the ground, her rational mind again fighting with her heart and wishing more than ever that she could leave and not come back.

She remembered times similar to that, but there had been no joy involved. Nor had it been by her own will. Only crushing and violent, and phantom pains shot through parts of her body that had previously been numbed by the rain.

Suddenly the icy rain that had been pelting her body stopped, "Kaho?"

She jumped and stumbled away and stared at the figure that appeared next to her in the darkness. Fujitaka stood before her, umbrella in hand, with a worried expression on his face. "You all right?" He asked.

"I…yes…I…I think so…" she nodded dumbly.

"You sure?" He took a step closer, and she in turn took a step back. "I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have done that."

"No…it's all right…I just…" she trailed off and avoided meeting his gaze, "…never mind."

Fujitaka studied her for a moment, "You know, you can tell me whatever it is you've been trying to say."

Kaho looked up at him, unwillingly getting pulled in by his warm brown eyes. She frowned and said, "I have no business telling you what I want to say."

Fujitaka frowned, "I see." He tried to take a step towards her again, but again she stepped away. "So that's how it's going to be?" He stepped away, "Don't stay out here too long, you just got well again. I'll make sure there are towels by the door for you when you come in." When he received a nod, he turned and walked back into the house.

Toya met him at the door, "You're going to let her stay out here?"

"She won't be much longer," Fujitaka said as he folded the umbrella and set it near the door to dry.

"You won't tell her, will you?" Toya asked.

"Tell her what?" His father replied.

"How you feel," the younger man answered.

Fujitaka smiled as he stared at the floor, "I'm loyal to your mother Toya, and you know that. What I just did in the living room was wrong and misleading."

"No matter how much I dislike the idea of you two possibly getting together, I'm not going to let you lie to yourself either," Toya said.

Fujitaka clenched his fists at his sides, "I'm not lying to myself Toya, the only reason she's staying here is because she's hurt and unable to fight on her own, and she also agreed to teaching me how to use the magic I've gained. That's all." With that, he made his way upstairs.

Toya watched him go with frown, "You don't take well to lying to yourself, do you?"

OOOO

Kaho stared at the door, listening to the conversation going on on the other side of it. Something inside her was screaming, while something else was breaking, and yet at the same time she felt something else building up, an emotional barrier that she'd used before while on her way here. She knew she needed it now so she would be able to live in the same house with the people she cared for, while not having the same feelings returned.

"Was it something I did?" She asked herself, "Did I do something to make him change his mind about how he felt? Or had he always felt this way, and I'm just too stupid to notice?"

She sank to her knees and wondered, _Is this what heartache feels like? Is this what I did to Toya when I left him? If it is, I deserve it…_she felt tears burn her eyes, but she wiped them away before they could fall. Standing, she walked out from under the overhang of the door and looked up at the roof. Crouching and routing some magic down to her leg muscles, she leapt up and onto the roof, landing silently and surely. There she perched at the peak of the roof and stared out over the rainy neighborhood for a while, thinking about what she needed to do to get out of there as fast as possible.

"Next time Eriol shows his face…" Kaho said to herself. "Even if it just means I lure him away, it means I'll finally be out of their lives." Sighing, she looked up at the clouded sky, rain pelting her face.

She sat out there for about an hour, during said time she watched the light turn on in Sakura's room and the girl opened her window to look out. Her surveying didn't last long for she quickly pulled her head back inside and shut the window, the light extinguishing only a few seconds later.

"They must all be getting to bed…" Kaho murmured to herself. "I guess this would be a good time to go in now that the living room is cleared out." She slid soundlessly down the roof and leapt to the ground, then walked to the door and walked inside. She stood in the entryway, soaked clothes dripping and creating a large puddle on the floor.

She spied two towels that had been left by the door and picked one up and unfolded it, using to try and catch the water streaming from her soaked hair.

"Here," came a masculine voice.

Kaho jumped for the second time that evening and looked up into Fujitaka's eyes. She blinked at him for a moment, then noticed he carried a neatly folded set of clothes for her in his arms. "Um…thank you…" she took the offered clothing. Before she said anything else, he turned and headed back towards the stairs. "Wait…"

Fujitaka turned and looked over at her.

"Um…I just wanted to apologize…for anything I said or did outside that may have hurt or offended you in any way," she told him.

Fujitaka studied her for a moment, "No, I'm the one who needs to apologize."

"What? Why?" Kaho asked.

"For leading you on, I'm sorry, if I did so," with that he turned and walked back upstairs.

Kaho watched him go, _I'm such an idiot._ She told herself.

OOOO

She plopped back down on the couch a little while later, dry and changed into the clothes Fujitaka had given her. Sighing, she pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them.

"I guess I don't have to worry about telling him after all," Kaho said. "He wouldn't care anyways." Tears came to her eyes, and this time she didn't stop them, and she cried silently in the dark living room until she slipped into sleep, her mind haunted by a love she could never have.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Fujitaka stumbled downstairs the next morning with a yawn and walked into the living room out of habit to check on the woman who was staying with them. He stopped and stared in surprised when he found all of the furniture had been moved to the outskirts of the room so the center was clear. He found Kaho sitting on the floor with her back to him, added a second layer to the bandages that were wrapped around her arms.

"Morning," she said without looking behind her as she tightened the bandage to an extent that made Fujitaka flinch.

"Good morning," Fujitaka offered the same greeting, "Um…may I ask why you rearranged my living room?"

"You wanted to learn didn't you?" Kaho asked without facing him.

"Learn what?" Fujitaka asked.

Kaho made a face and laid back so she could look at him somewhat upside down without having to turn around, "You aren't awake yet are you? Think back to last night and what we agreed upon."

He pondered a moment, then remembered what they had talked about, "Oh, that's right, you're going to teach me how to use my magic."

"Correct," she said as she sat back up and finished reinforcing the bandages she had around her arms. "Today we'll start off simple, merely creating light, shields, and, if we get that far, possibly low level energy balls that you can flick at people." She stood and faced him, "I'd suggest you change into something else…training in ones pajamas makes it very hard to take a student seriously."

Fujitaka blinked, then looked down at himself and blushed. While it had been habit for himself to come down each morning to check on Kaho, he was usually up way before her, which meant he could come down, check on her, start breakfast cooking, run back upstairs and change, and be back down to finish by the time she'd woken up. Today she'd been up earlier and had caught him by surprise. "Um…good idea." And with that said, he scrambled back upstairs.

Not too long after did Sakura come scrambling downstairs in a rush, "I'm going to Tomoyo's!"

"What for?" Kaho asked as she peeked out from the living room.

"To practice for Tomoyo's concert," Sakura answered as she snapped on her skates. "It's in five days and we _really_ need to practice."

Kaho nabbed the back of the girl's collar before she zipped out the door.

"Ow! Oh come on I'll be late!" Sakura tried to wriggle out of the woman's grip, but only succeeded in falling down.

"I don't think Tomoyo would be upset if you at least ate something before you left," Kaho said as she dragged the teenager back to the kitchen. "And if I'm right, you guys get so caught up in what you're doing you forget to do those basic things…like eatting."

Fujitaka watched this from where he crouched in the middle of the stairs, hiding in the early morning shadows. He smiled as he watched both females struggle towards the kitchen before shaking it off and returning back to getting dressed.

Sakura giggled guiltily, "Yeah, you're right. How do you know that anyways?" She was curious as she opened the cup board and pulled out pancake mix.

Kaho smiled, "After living with Eriol for as long as I did, I know what happens when you get caught up in something you're passionate in."

"Dad's the same way when he gets into his research. To the point where we have to bring him food and stay there until we're sure he's eating," Sakura said as she measure water and pancake mix into a bowl, then stopped and scowled at her. "You're eating too so don't try and get out of it." Then she proceeded to finish mixing said batter.

Kaho returned the scowl, "Fine…"

"Who beat me to the stove?" Fujitaka asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"Sakura did," Kaho answered as she looked over at him.

"Forcefully," Sakura chimed in before both women looked at Fujitaka, then tried desperately to smother giggles and sniggers.

"What's so funny?" Fujitaka asked as he looked down at himself. "Oh…" While he'd been buttoning his shirt he'd obviously let his attention wander, for now all of the buttons were off and he looked positively silly and un-kept. As he tried to fix it he got flustered and ended making a bigger mess of it than he intended.

Kaho laughed and walked over to him and waved his hands away from the buttons and undid them all and redid them for him, "What's got you all flustered this morning?"

"Well, the prospect of me actually doing something productive with my magic could be one reason," Fujitaka said. He swallowed hard and bit his tongue as he watched her unbutton his shirt to fix it, inappropriate thoughts flying through his head. This caused a blush to appear on his face and Kaho picked up on it when she was about halfway back up with fixing the buttons.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Um…n…nothing," Fujitaka said he smiled, then looked over at his daughter, who was giving him a look and a raised eyebrow. He waved her off, but Sakura snorted and went back to making the pancakes. She'd heard what he'd said the night before about his feelings towards Kaho and was having a hard time on deciding which case was true. He was relieved when Kaho finished and both took seats at the table to watch Sakura work.

"I'm off!" Called Toya.

"You're not even going to stay and eat?" Fujitaka called back.

"Who's cooking?" Toya asked as he peeked into the kitchen.

"Sakura," his father answered.

"The monster? Nah, I think it'd be safer if I didn't," and with that he ducked out of the room quickly as an unused dishrag smacked into the wall where his head had been a second before.

"Darn, missed," Sakura grumbled. "I'm not a monster…" she growled.

Fujitaka chuckled at the ritualistic theatrics his children were pulling while Kaho stared at the wall in front of her, not making eye contact with anyone.

Sakura came over a few minutes later with three plates and three glasses of orange juice on a tray. She set one down by her father, one by her own place, then one by Kaho while muttering, "You play with it and I'll have my dad pin you to the floor again." Kaho merely grumbled and poked at the pancakes with her fork.

"So what are you going to be teaching Dad today Kaho?" Sakura asked as she started a light conversation.

"I've already gone over the basics of it with your father," Kaho answered, "But I guess some elaboration couldn't hurt." She actually cut a piece pancake up as she continued, "First we'll be starting off simple, forming small balls of light in his hands until he gets used to calling up his power in that fashion. Depending on how far he gets in that will decide if we go onto learning how to shoot low level balls of energy, or working on more defensive areas like shielding."

"How are you going to teach him how to shield?" Sakura asked, a little afraid of the answer.

Kaho picked up the young woman's discomfort, "Don't worry, I'll be attacking your father with harmless light balls. The worst they'll do is make him feel a little tingly if he gets hit by too many of them." She began poking at her pieces of pancake again, getting them mushy and soggy in the syrup on the plate.

"You're playing with it," Sakura muttered and Kaho stabbed a not so soggy piece of pancake with her fork and put it in her mouth and chewed it with a scowl.

Fujitaka watched the verbal skirmish and smiled, "Well, if all it takes is me threatening to pin her to the floor again then I think I'll be getting you to eat more often." Kaho just kept chewing. "Swallow it." She did so after making a few more disgruntled faces.

"Oh give me a break, they aren't that bad," Sakura said.

"No, they're not, I just don't feel like eating…" Kaho said plainly.

"Ever," Fujitaka added with a smirk.

"I'm going to kick you," Kaho said as she angled her foot under the table to aim for his shin.

Sakura shoved the rest of her food into her mouth quickly, picked up her plate and said, "Oo oo av un." She rinsed her plate quickly and dashed out the door without another word, leaving Kaho and Fujitaka sitting at the table alone.

"Um…" Kaho began, "What did she say?"

"I think it translates out to, 'You two have fun,'" Fujitaka answered.

"Ah," Kaho said as she poked at her food again.

"Eat it!" Fujitaka shouted, startling her and she started eating like Sakura when she was late for school. It lasted for about five seconds before she stopped and started poking at it again and Fujitaka sighed, "Why won't you eat?"

"I'm not hungry," she answered without looking at him.

"You're never eat, you have to be hungry," Fujitaka said.

Kaho picked up her glass of juice and sipped at it, "I'm not."

Fujitaka glowered at her as he chewed his food, trying to get out of her what was bothering her and making her not eat. "Kaho, not eating isn't going to make whatever it is that's bothering you go away. Talking about it helps, but only if you decide to tell someone what it is that's bothering you."

"It's nothing," Kaho told him without meeting his gaze, "Really."

"If you can't look me in the eye and say that then I know you're lying," Fujitaka said.

Kaho bowed her head and stood up, taking her plate and glass to the sink and cleaned them off without a word, then walked into the living room, "Once you're finished come in here and we'll start."

He wouldn't push it, if she wouldn't tell him, then it obviously wasn't something he needed to know, he hoped. With a sigh he turned back to his food, finishing it quickly and leaving his plate in the sink to clean off later, boyish anticipation having crept up on him while he had finished.

"Okay I'm ready," Fujitaka said as he trotted into the living room.

Kaho got up from the couch and walked over to stand in front of him, "All right, do you know how to touch your power?"

"Um…" Fujitaka's brow knitted, "I'm not sure what you mean."

"Can you look inside yourself and find your power and 'touch' it?" Kaho asked.

"Um…no…" he frowned.

"All right, come here, I'll show you how," Kaho said as she offered her hands to him. He took them and she felt that same shock of electricity she felt every time he touched her, but she recovered quickly. "All right, what I'm about to do is something you should never let anyone else do. No matter how much you trust them and no matter the cost."

"So why am I letting you do it?" Fujitaka asked smartly.

"A, because I'm teaching you how to use your magic and there's no other way to do it, and B, because I know what I'm doing," Kaho replied. "Now close your eyes."

"All right," Fujitaka shrugged and closed his eyes. For a moment he felt nothing, then slowly something white, shining, and warm filled the dark void behind his eyelids. He went to open his eyes but someone else clamped them shut. This startled him and he began to mentally rebel.

_Shh shh, it's all right, it's just me,_ Kaho's voice murmured gently in his mind, and it was just then that he felt himself trembling. _It's all right, I know it's strange, but now that we're linked this way I can take you to where in your body your magic resides._

Unaccustomed to such ways of communication, it took him a moment to be able to respond, _You have complete control over my body now don't you?_

_I do, which is why I said to never EVER let anyone else do this to you,_ Kaho stressed. _It's a scary feeling isn't it, knowing someone else has control over you and you at this point have no way of getting yourself out of it?_

_Yes it is,_ Fujitaka answered honestly, none of this helping as he began to tremble more, knowing something strange was about to happen.

_Imagine how Eriol feels,_ Kaho pointed out. _All right, are you ready?_

_I think so, _Fujitaka answered.

_Let's go then_, Kaho said and she pulled them both down deep into his mind. For a moment all he could feel was her warm glowing beside him and the deep darkness that was the depth of his mind. It was oddly cold and discomforting, knowing this was somewhere inside his own mind.

When he thought the darkness would last forever something in front of him began to glow, faintly at first, but then it got brighter. Slowly they came upon a shining, bright sapphire glow in the middle of the darkness. It was comforting and a welcomed sight.

_Is that mine?_ Fujitaka asked.

_Yes it is,_ Kaho answered, _The darkness we just passed through is the potential you have in having your power grow that much._

_It feels like there's so much yet so little at the same time,_ Fujitaka said as he mentally reached out to stroke the light in front of him.

_It will feel that way for a while. You're just beginning, in time you'll grow,_ Kaho assured him.

The minute he felt himself touch his own power, something drew him in and his vision went dark. Kaho's glowing presence was gone, as was the feeling of his own magic. He felt himself falling, falling into a blackness and he couldn't stop himself.

He hit the ground hard, knocking the wind from his lungs and it took him a moment to recover. He sat up and cough, looking around as he did so. Around him was a battle field, completely black except for a small glowing in the center. He was at the perimeter of the glow and he looked around to see if anyone else was there. Something caught his eye and he looked to see Sakura a few feet away, laying face down on the ground, a few large rocks and boulders scattered around her. He got up and went to her, intent on helping her up. When he reached her though, something about the way she was laying wasn't right.

He reached down and touched her arm, then pulled away quick, her skin ice cold to the touch. He crouched down next to his daughter and looked at her eyes and found them unfocused, blank, dead.

"Sakura," Fujitaka shook his daughter, trying to make her look at him. "Sakura!" Something made him look up and around and he noticed another body laying only a foot away. On closer inspection, he found himself in the same position, covered in fallen rocks and ice cold to the touch.

"No, what is this?" Fujitaka asked as he stood up and took a few stumbling steps back, "This can't be right!"

_Fujitaka,_ came a voice.

"It's not right," he was so wrapped up in what he was seeing he didn't hear the voice right away.

_Fujitaka! It's all right! Open your eyes! _The voice called out again.

He looked up at the sound, finally recognizing it.

_It's all right, open your eyes,_ she said.

"They are open!" Fujitaka shouted as he looked at the two dead bodies before him.

_No, they're not, you must listen to me, close your eyes and remember where you are,_ Kaho consoled him as gently as she could.

Calming himself as best he could, Fujitaka did as he was told and closed his eyes again. In the darkness he felt something pop and he felt himself come awake and he slowly opened his eyes. To his surprise, they had both ended up sitting on the floor, Kaho held tightly in his arms.

"You are all right?" Her voice sounded softly in his ear.

"I think so," his voice cracked as he answered and he realized his cheeks were wet with tears and his eyes were still blurry with them. "Did you see any of what I saw?"

"No, not really," she answered and he realized he hadn't let her go yet, and he really didn't want to for fear of plunging back into the horrible vision he'd just experienced. She pushed herself away from him just enough so she could look at him, but didn't insist he let go completely. "What did you see?" She asked as she reached out and wiped a few new tears away. He opened his mouth to explain, but no sound came out, and just the thought of looking at Sakura in that position, dead, made him start trembling all over again. Kaho frowned and brought her hand up, index and middle finger extended and gently placed them on his forehead.

Much to his disappointment, images of what he'd seen began to flash through his vision. It was like watching a quick slideshow as Kaho quickly picked through his memory, taking in all of the important details in complex images instead of replaying them like a movie.

"Well," she said as she removed her hand and his normal vision returned, "It seems you have some potential with Foresight." She placed both of her hands on his shoulder and looked directly into his eyes, "I understand what you're going through right now, but there's something you must know about foresight. It's not always true when you see it. If it keeps reoccurring then you need to say something, but until then, don't take them too seriously, it's just a possibility. Likely something that will happen if we're unprepared, understand?" He nodded but didn't look at all relieved with her explanation.

She sighed and wriggled out of his grip and he looked up at her like a scared little boy, overwhelmed with all that he'd seen in such a short amount of time. She really couldn't blame him for reacting the way he was. Sakura and Toya were the most important things in his life and the thought of losing either one of them was an overpowering blow to him, mentally and physically. She smiled at him once she was standing, "I'll be right back." He nodded and she hurried down the hallway to the phone and dialed Sakura cell phone number.

"Hello?" Sakura answered the phone.

"Hey Sakura, it's Kaho, can you do me a favor when the two of you decide to take a break?" Her voice was even, almost emotionless.

"Sure, what's going on?" Sakura asked.

"It seems your father has a bit of potential with Foresight and he saw something the minute I got him linked up with his power," Kaho explained.

"What did he see?" The young woman was curious as to what her father was learning and what he had seen.

"Well, it wasn't something I'd have chosen for a first timer like your father to see," Kaho said. "To put it simply, he saw you dead, and he himself lying dead next to you under a pile of rocks and debris. "

"But not all premonitions are true when you see them for the first time," Sakura said. "They only become more likely the more often they repeat themselves."

"I know that, and your father understands that…somewhat…" Kaho told her. "My point is, could you come home for just a few minutes the next time you catch a break? Just to reassure your father you're all right."

"Not taking it well is he?" Sakura asked, her tone proving she was worried about him.

"No…" Kaho answered truthfully as she angled herself so she could see into the living room and look at the man, who had moved himself to huddle up on the couch.

"I'll be home soon," Sakura said, "Tomoyo will understand once I explain it."

"That's good," the woman sighed in relief.

"Be there in a bit," Sakura said and hung up.

Placing the phone back on the receiver, Kaho returned to the living room and perched atop the back of the couch and looked down at the man sitting there next to her. "What are you thinking about?"

"My family," Fujitaka answered, "and how much it's changed since magic was mixed into it."

Kaho bit her bottom lip at the statement, feeling that she was partly to blame for the change.

"How is it that I've been able to use magic even though I haven't known how to physically get in contact with it?" Fujitaka asked.

"There are certain ways people use their magic through different stages of its development and with their level of education with it," Kaho started explaining. "You've got little to no training with your magic, and not very much of a magical supply at the moment, so you were working off the very basics of your magic. Literally just forcing it out of you like trying to wring out that very last bit of water out of a wet rag. It's draining on the user and has reactions on people it's used on." She looked down at him, "You know how when you heal people, no matter the seriousness of the wound, they always fall into an exhausted sleep? That's because the magic you're using is so diluted that it uses a lot of the resources from your patient's body to do the work. For a major healing, that's normal because the wounds are serious and magic users don't want to use all of their energy on it at once, so they use some of their patient's resources to help aid in while they heal. Minor things, like a paper cut or a scrapped knee can be healed completely without any aid, and because of that, it shouldn't make a person tired."

"So you're saying I've been doing it the hard way for a while," Fujitaka stated.

"Yes you have, but it will become easier now that you have a firm grasp on where your power is," Kaho assured him.

"I see," Fujitaka said as he stared at couch cushions.

"I'm home!" The sound of Sakura's voice was like music to both their ears. The young woman scampered into the living room and smiled, "Hi Dad."

"How'd you get here so fast?" Kaho asked.

Sakura smiled as she held up The Fly, "It was convenient."

Fujitaka stood from the couch and walked toward his daughter and when he got there he dropped to his knees and hugged her tightly, trying to prove to himself that she was indeed alive and well.

"I'm okay Dad," Sakura assured him, "What you saw wasn't real, I promise."

"Doesn't make it feel any less real," her father stated.

"I know," Sakura smiled, "You'll get used to it."

"Seems I have a lot to get used to," Fujitaka said as he pulled away and looked his daughter over, just to assure himself a bit more that she was unharmed.

"I'm okay Dad! Really!" Sakura wriggled away from her father's grip and edge towards the door. "I need to get back to practice now, I just dropped by real quick to make sure you were all right."

Fujitaka sighed as he heard the front door close and turned back to Kaho, "What next?"

"You sure you want to continue?" Kaho asked. "If this is going to bother you to the point where you can't stay focused or concentrate, it'd be a little dangerous for you to be using your powers."

He was silent for a moment, mentally dueling with himself on whether to keep going, or stop for a while. He shook his head, trying to make himself believe what his daughter and Kaho had told him about such visions. "Have you ever had them?"

"Had what?" Kaho cocked her head to one side in curiosity.

"Those visions, like the one I just had," Fujitaka explained.

Kaho's expression went slightly grave, "I do…" he looked up in surprise. "My most reoccurring ones consisting of the battles yet to come." She avoided mentioning a name, "In the end, one of us dies…"

"Who?" Fujitaka asked.

"It's not you or Sakura, or even Tomoyo, so don't worry," Kaho assured him.

"So that leaves you or Eriol," Fujitaka concluded. "Do you know which one?"

She was silent for a moment, as if replaying the images in her mind, then answered, "No."

He frowned, "How many times have you seen it?"

"I've dreamt it every night since I came to stay with you," Kaho answered.

She'd been with them for just about two weeks by then and Fujitaka did a quick day count, "That's over a dozen times."

"Give or take a few considering the few days I was sick," Kaho added and Fujitaka nodded. "So, do you feel like continuing or should we leave it alone for a little while?"

Fujitaka sighed and thought for a moment, "Let's continue."

Kaho gave him a reassuring smile, "All right." She got up off the couch and walked up to him, "First we'll start with simple light creation. Do you remember how to touch your magic?" She received a nod, "Good, what you'll need to do is draw it up into your hands, mentally willing it into a sphere or an oval shape if you wish. When you get it right, it'll look like this." She held up her hand and a white glowing ball of light bloomed into being and glowed warmly between the two of them. She extinguished it by closing her hand around it and cutting off her magic supply, then looked up at him. "Go ahead and try."

He nodded and closed his eyes and searched for the place inside him where his magic resided. When he found it, he mentally latched onto it and pulled it up and out. When he felt something warm spread across his hands he opened his eyes and was startled to see a flaring glob of bright sapphire flickering and sparking before his eyes. He was surprised at the amount of euphoria he felt as he used his magic, he felt warm, joyous, and comfortable looking at the light he was creating. He looked around and found himself swirling with the same color wind and saw little flares of his magic sparkle around and then looked over at Kaho for an explanation. He flushed when he found her giggling at him.

"What's so funny?" He asked.

"I should have expected this," she snickered, "You used too much, that's why you're giving me this rather impressive lightshow. I guess I should have warned you not to grab too much, but I'm glad to see you can call upon it with some ease."

"How do I make it stop?" Fujitaka asked, feeling considerably silly with the wind blowing him around and his magic tickling him on his hands and face.

"Cut it off," Kaho answered simply, "Let go of your magic connection." He stared at her, clearly saying he had absolutely no idea what to do. She giggled again and stepped up in from of him, momentarily getting caught up in the swirling wind and light and took hold of his hands. He felt something stabilized in him, then cut off, and the light and wind disappeared abruptly, filling the room with a silence so loud that for a moment he was disoriented and somewhat claustrophobic. The thrill he had felt was gone too and he felt empty and wanting to go back and do it again, even if it meant the awkward moment of figuring out how to cut it off, if he ever decided he wanted to.

Kaho recognized that look in his eyes, the wanting to do it again and knew she had to stop him before he became magically addicted, "Why don't we hold off a bit on you trying a again for and have you calm down."

Fujitaka looked down at her and began to protest when he actually stopped and thought clearly. "Can you get addicted to magic?"

Kaho nodded, "Very easily."

Fujitaka swallowed, "Lets take a break."

"Good choice," she smiled.

OOOO

"I'm home!" Sakura called as she came through the door.

"We're in the living room!" Came Kaho's voice, followed by a whistling noise and smoky sound that sound like water being dripped onto a hot pan.

Sakura walked into the living room and watched as Kaho flicked another energy ball the size of a golf ball at her father, who was standing in the middle of the room with a barely visible circular shield around him. The energy ball, which Sakura reminded herself was just made up of light for now, smacked into her father's shield and fizzled out, proving that it was strong enough to take a minor, harmless attack.

"How's he doing?" Sakura asked as she went and sat down next to Kaho, who was sitting on the couch, flicking the energy balls at Fujitaka in a random pattern.

"Very well," Kaho answered. "He can keep out low level offensive attacks now."

"Wait, so those aren't light balls?" Sakura asked, her eyes widening. Kaho flicked one at her and she felt like she been hit with a large static shock, like on hot dry days when one runs around on carpet, the touches a metal object and gets zapped. "Hoe!!!! That felt funny!"

Kaho chuckled as she continued flicking them and Fujitaka, "Yes they do." She concentrated a bit more and flicked a denser looking ball at him, shattering his shield with ease, but the ball of energy dissipated immediately afterwards, not touching the tired man standing in front of them, "I think you're done for the day."

Fujitaka sank to his knees and sighed in exhaustion, "That was a lot harder than I thought it would be."

Kaho chuckled as she peered down at him, "But you did well and you've improved already." She knelt down next to him, "How do you feel?"

"Like I want food!" He told her and she giggled.

"I'll start dinner then," Sakura laughed and scampered into the kitchen.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A faint noise tugged Kaho away from her sleep. Consciousness picked up more of the noise closer than she thought. It was almost right on top of her. A low, hissing moan made her slightly uneasy, and, before opening her eyes, she made sure she had a small energy bolt ready to fire off if it was indeed something ready to cause her harm. She opened her eyes just enough to see what was right in front of her and went still. Something very blue and fuzzy was staring at her, making odd hissing sounds.

"_Holy Shit!"_ Kaho cursed and sat up straight, flinging off her tiny assailant.

"Ho ho! You do say some dirty words!" Kero sang as he flipped through the air, returning to his golden fur pattern.

"K-Kero?" Kaho was stunned for a moment at how the little guardian had turned himself blue without dying. That stunned feeling didn't last long, quickly being swallowed up by irritation and she threw off her blanket and began to get up, "Get back here fuzzball!"

"Whoops, I'm in trouble," Kero deduced and zipped out of the living room.

"Kero! I told you not to wake her up!" Sakura called from the kitchen.

Kaho bolted after the tiny guardian, in no mood to humor his silly antics that morning. Her dreams, though not of their upcoming battle for once, had instead turned down a different path. She'd seen her father, seemingly moments before he died, and it hadn't been kind. Something, or someone, had killed him, but made it look like a heart attack or something else that a man of his age could have died from. Not only had it been disturbing enough to wake her several times during the night, but it had become reoccurring, coming back to repeat itself every time she'd fallen asleep again. That meant she had had very little sleep and was rightfully a smidge crabby.

Kero turned sharply towards the stairs, dodging Fujitaka in the process. Kaho, who was wearing socks, lost traction on the smooth wooden floor as she made to follow the guardian and slipped, falling into the oncoming man's arms.

"Whoa, gravity almost got the better of you," Fujitaka said as he caught her.

Kaho scowled over the mans shoulder, before realizing her exact situation and started to pull away. "Uh…sorry about that…"

Fujitaka chuckled, "It's okay, I'm assuming you had a rude awakening?"

"Um…yeah…" Kaho managed to spit out before she stiffly spun around and walked back into the living room. She listened as Fujitaka walked into the kitchen and spoke to his daughter while she sat down on the couch and turned her thoughts inward. "Father…" Though the disturbing images had been only a dream, the actual incident was real enough. She wasn't sure under what circumstances the event had actually happened, but her father had indeed passed on while she had been en-route back to Tomoeda.

At the time, when she had learned of her father's death, through another dream, she had been phasing her way over the western mountains in China. There hadn't been a safe way for her to travel by plane or train, so she'd had to do it all on foot, magically phasing over long distances through mountain ranges, oceans and deserts when she could. It had been her final jump from the Chinese eastern coast all the way into Tomoeda, with Eriol surprising her with an attack, that had brought her back into contact with Sakura and her father.

During that time, the death of her father had been shoved to the back of her mind. Yet, now that she had had time to relax a little and sit down and think, old memories had surfaced and her emotions wanted to mourn for her father. Her mind battled with her emotions for a moment before the kitchen door slid open.

"You going to come quietly or am I going have to sit on you again?" Fujitaka asked. He noticed her solemn, distant expression and wondered if was a good idea to interrupt her or not. He sighed and decided to walk up to her, seeing if the sound and movement was enough to snap her out of thought. If it wasn't, he'd leave her alone.

She looked up at his second footfall.

"No you're not going to sit on me," she said as she turned her head to look at him.

"Good, then come eat," Fujitaka said, and was surprised when he didn't receive a complaint or any resistance. All Kaho did was stand and make her way into the kitchen.

Her good behavior was short lived though, for all she did as she sat there was poke at her food, her thoughts drifting away somewhere that Fujitaka couldn't seem to get her out of. He'd mumble her name now and again and it'd get her to eat a few bites, but she did it mechanically, doing it only because she was being told to and she obviously didn't have the will to argue today.

Sakura volunteered to do the dishes before she headed over to Tomoyo's, which left Fujitaka free to start up his lessons again. Oddly enough, that brought Kaho quickly out of her thoughts.

"More of the same, or something different?" Fujitaka asked.

"For now, more of the same and I'll see how much you improve," Kaho answered. "Depending on that, we may have you shooting at me by the end of the day."

Much to her surprise, her pupil excelled in whatever he was learning. He seemed to have taken what he had learned the day before and ran with it. Maybe it was the fact that the vision he'd witnessed was no longer bothering him, or maybe he was just getting the hang of it. But whatever it was, he was quickly beginning to be able to deflect much of her stronger attacks.

To call him Clow Reed's reincarnation was right!

Kaho was greatly pleased at how far Fujitaka was coming, but she felt bad about not being able to express it better than how she was, smiling and encouraging him. Her mind was preoccupied, not enough to cause a problem with teaching, but enough to keep her emotionally bland, and Fujitaka was beginning to pick up on it.

"Can we stop for a minute?" Fujitaka asked around 1:00 in the afternoon.

"Sure, tired?" Kaho asked.

"No, curious actually," he replied and plunked himself down on the couch to study her. "Something's been on your mind all day. Don't try and deny it," she had been about to, "I'm not an idiot and I can see it quite clearly. It's not the same thing that was bothering you yesterday, you were hiding that one better. What is it today? Will you tell me?"

Kaho smiled, he was forever surprising her, in everything! Eriol had been the same way, and she was beginning to understand why she'd been so comfortable around the man so quickly. She studied his eyes for a moment, battling with herself whether to tell him or not. She decided on yes, not about how she felt, but about her father.

"I was just thinking about my father," she answered. "He passed away while I was on my way here, and at the time I wasn't able to mourn for him. Last night I had a dream about him, about how he may have died. It made me realize I had yet to think on it, realize it, that my father was indeed dead." Her voice had hit a monotone, proving she was beginning to lock her emotions away. "It's why I've had to burden you with having me stay here. Being gone as long as I have makes moving back into the temple harder without my father there to vouch for me. And with my…encounters and interaction with demons, they'd probably not allow in there for any length of time anyways." She sighed, "It's still sinking in I guess…"

Fujitaka sat there for a moment, his mind tinkering with possible ways of fixing her problem. The best way, would have them outside, out in the open and possibly vulnerable. He shook his head with a smile and stood up, "Let's go."

"What? Go where?" Kaho asked in confusion.

"To go pay our respects to your father," Fujitaka said, and he watched Kaho's eyes light in relief and gratefulness.

"Okay."

OOOO

They knew they wouldn't be able to stay out for long, just enough to go by the shrine, find Kaho's father's grave, pay their respects, then leave. Fujitaka felt bad for having to make it so quick, but their lives might have depended on it.

After a short drive to the shrine, Kaho led Fujitaka around to the small cemetery where they would find her father. Of course, the body wouldn't be buried there. It had been cremated and his ashes were stored in a safe place inside the shrine. Outside were small headstones placed close together as a place for the public to come by and visit. It was pretty, and much more comfortable than sitting inside the shrine waiting for the ashes to be brought out.

Kaho found it fairly quickly and spent a few moments in prayer. Then they sat there for a moment, just enjoying the silence and the cool December breeze.

"I was wondering when you were going to come by here," came a voice from the shadows of a tree.

Kaho looked up and towards the voice. She quickly identified the voice and stood up in a defensive posture, "Spinel." Fujitaka mirrored her stance half a second later.

"Calm yourselves," Spinel said as he walked out from under the tree, white stripes undulating against his major black coat color, "I'm not here under the demon's control."

Kaho frowned, "But that's impossible, he has all of Eriol's magic in his control, which means he controls you as well."

"Not anymore," Spinel said as he padded over to her and sat in front of her.

"Y…you broke free?" Kaho asked, surprised. "But how? You shouldn't be able to survive unless your master willfully releases you."

"He did, Eriol is still in there," Spinel said as he butted his head into her stomach affectionately. "He consciously set me free, against the demon's control. I can't change back and forth into my disguise, since I've lost my major magic supply from Eriol, but it's a small price to pay."

"Oh Spinel," the woman knelt down and took guardian's head in her hands and hugged him to her, sharing a moment of communal loss. Neither of their relationships with Eriol were going to be the same after this, and it wasn't something they were pleased about.

"But good has come out of this," Spinel said as he pulled his head free so he could speak clearly. "Eriol knows a spell that can break the demons bonds." He paused with a frown. "But it needs to be done by another person." He looked at her with hope in his deep blue eyes, "I was hoping you might be able to do it."

Kaho blinked for a moment, letting the revelation work its way through her mind. "What is it?"

Fujitaka listened as the panther like guardian began to speak in a language he couldn't understand. From the concentration on Kaho's face, she understood, and was working on memorizing it.

Spinel finished quickly, "I've also given you the augmented version in case things go wrong, but I hope you don't have to use it." Kaho nodded. "And I'm sure you've noticed less activity coming from him haven't you?"

"I had actually been wondering why it had been so peaceful," Kaho nodded.

"The demon has returned to England in attempt to draw you out," Spinel said. "If Eriol hadn't come across this spell, I'd be telling you to not even give the demon a second thought, but now that I know there is a way to release Eriol…I'm asking you to please try. It's dangerous, and I understand if you refuse to do anything, but I needed to try. He may not be my master anymore…but…"

Kaho silenced him with a gentle tap to his nose, "You and I both still care about him. He didn't ask for this. True he ignored our warnings to stay away from the workroom, but everyone makes mistakes."

"You're right," Spinel's smile seemed nostalgic. "So you'll do it?"

"Of course," Kaho said. "I'll try at least. I too have a reason to get rid of that demon. Until I kill it, these slash wounds won't heal."

Spinel purred and rubbed his head gently over one of her bandage wrapped arms, "I apologize for that too."

"Don't worry about it Spinel," Kaho took the guardian's head in her hands again, making him look at her. "It wasn't your fault. I'm not going to blame you for it, or any of the other injuries you may have given me. I've watched you fight his control every step of the way, and I'm grateful for that. Had you not, I'm afraid my arms would be useless by now."

Spinel purred on, cuddling his head up against her throat, "You've always been kind Kaho. Even now, after all the torment you've gone through, you're still as kind as the day I met you."

Kaho gave him a bit of a smirk, "My kindness may still be prominent, but that doesn't mean I haven't changed from this. We both have, and there's nothing we can do about it." she sighed. "The things you and I have seen will forever have changed our outlook on people, and the way we react towards the world."

"Forever suspicious," Spinel nodded in agreement. "When will you leave?"

"As soon as I can figure out a way to get there," Kaho said. "I won't be able to do a plane ride, not with the demon still around. But I'll probably be able to phase my way there in one jump this time instead of having to travel back on foot like I did before."

"You do look better," Spinel commented.

"Thank him," Kaho said as she looked over at Fujitaka, who had been quiet through the whole event. "And his daughter. They've been taking care of me. More so than I think I deserve."

"Sit on her," Fujitaka said.

Spinel looked confused.

"Inside joke," Kaho told him and the guardian grinned mischievously. "Spinel…" Kaho warned, but was quickly overtaken by the powerful guardian and unceremoniously sat on. "Hey! Get your big fuzzy butt off of me!" The woman shouted as she flailed about.

Both Spinel and Fujitaka laughed, "Had I known you were this entertaining I'd have done this a _long_ time ago."

"Okay! Off! I need air!" Kaho said and the guardian removed himself with a chuckle. She sat up with a gasp, "The both of you are EVIL!"

"You need a bit of teasing after shooting at me for most of the day," Fujitaka pointed out.

Kaho couldn't come up with a good argument for that one.

"Now I actually have something I want to say about you and your fight with that demon," Fujitaka said and Kaho cocked her head at him in interest, "We're coming with you, Sakura and me."

"No you're not!" Kaho said. "It's far more dangerous than you realize it's going to be."

"Unlikely," Fujitaka said as he gave her a serious look. "I understand it's going to be dangerous, more so than I or Sakura have witnessed, but I also know that you won't be able to handle it all on your own. I know you're better, but not completely, and I know you'll over exert yourself and…I don't even want to think of the outcome." Fujitaka's serious look was replaced with a grin, "Besides, you promised."

"Promised what?" Kaho was drawing a blank.

"Up on the roof a few days ago, you made me a promise that you would stop doing things alone, and that you would let us help you," Fujitaka said.

She had indeed, "And you intend to make sure I keep that promise..."

"Precisely," Fujitaka said. "That, and I know a jump like what you're about to do is going to take a lot out of you, and once you get there, you'll have no place that's safe to stay at."

"And you know of somewhere I can stay?" Kaho asked cynically.

"Not yet, but I will," Fujitaka said as he stood and started walked towards to car.

"Where are we going?" Kaho asked as she stood and followed him.

"To see Sonomi Daidouji," Fujitaka answered.

OOOO

"So let me get this straight," Sonomi said as she sat at her desk, "You're planning on going to England to release that boy from a demon, all by yourselves?" She received two nods, followed quickly by a third. "And you need my help so you have a place to stay?" Yet more nods and the woman sat back and thought for a little while.

"Fine…but you owe me big Kinomoto," Sonomi said as she spun her desk chair around to her computer and started typing away, locating hotels for them to stay at.

"This is all happening so fast," Sakura said. "One minute we were just sitting around waiting for something to happen, and now we're getting ready to leave."

"It happens," Fujitaka said with a shrug.

"You are way too calm for your own good," Kaho said.

"I see no point at getting all riled up over something that's going to happen sooner or later," Fujitaka said. "What's going to happen is going to happen."

"I already told you what was going to happen," Kaho reminded him.

Fujitaka frowned, "I have the added benefit of knowing Sakura and I are going to survive, but also the added worry of not knowing what's going to happen to you or Eriol." He refrained from mentioning that the 'happen' was death for either Eriol or Kaho.

"I know, I guess you do have a right to be relaxed in that sense," Kaho nodded, "But it's not going to be easy."

"I know…" Fujitaka said.

"Okay, you're all set," Sonomi said.

"Can you pull up a map please?" Kaho asked and Sonomi pulled up a map of the area in which their hotel was located. The woman studied it from over Sonomi's shoulder, then pointed out a place about two blocks away, "I can land us here, it's secluded with a lot of brush and trees."

"You know the way from there?" Sakura asked.

"Yes," Kaho answered.

Sakura was skeptical, and with good reason, "I remember Eriol telling me something about how you couldn't remember directions to save your life." She wasn't bringing it up to be mean, but more for safety's sake, they didn't want to be out wandering the streets of England lost and vulnerable.

"At the time Eriol said it, he was right," Kaho admitted. "I probably couldn't have found my way out of a paper bag. But when all you have to survive with is your way home, it becomes fairly natural. What little magic I had left at the time I also used to enhance my memory. Now I have no problem remembering how to get places."

"How do we get home from here?" Sakura asked and Kaho rattled off the directions without blinking, making Sakura stare at the woman. "Whoa." Kaho could only giggle.

"So when are you planning to leave?" Sonomi said as she swiveled around in her desk chair.

"Tomorrow morning," Fujitaka answered.

"All right, well, your rooms are reserved and you can check in whenever you like," Sonomi said. "How may I ask are you getting there?" She was confused about why Kaho had pointed out a secluded place of arrival.

"Kaho has an ability to move herself around in no time flat," Sakura said. "It's instantaneous, and we won't have to worry about endangering anyone on the plane while we're on our way there."

"So it's like teleportation?" Sonomi asked.

"That's the generic label for it I guess," Kaho nodded. "It's a little more technical then that, but people understand teleportation better than mater phasing, so I usually just stick with that." Kaho had found, over the time she'd perfect that particular ability, that people understood teleportation much more than the break down of everything in the human body to its basic cells and moving them all at an un-clocked speed. Doing it to herself was easy, if a little tiring if done a little too often, but a group of people was going to be draining, mentally and physically.

Sonomi blinked, "With those few words I'm already confused."

Kaho chuckled, "Don't worry about it, it's safe I promise, I'll just be tired for the first day, then we'll be able to get things done."

"Thanks again Sonomi," Fujitaka said. "I'll find a way to repay you as soon as we return."

"I'll hold you to that promise," Sonomi said as they all walked out of her office.

They bid farewell to Sonomi and Tomoyo and headed out to the car in silence, all three of them contemplating on what was yet to come.

Innocently, Sakura asked, "Is it going to be colder there than here?" Sakura asked.

"Actually," Kaho began, "for being in almost two different hemispheres, England and Japan's temperatures aren't all that different, at least in winter. Though there are times when there's an exception to the rule, temperature there are around 40 degrees, just like it is here during the winter."

"That's kind of weird don't you think?" Sakura asked.

"Not really when you think about the underwater currents running near the United Kingdom," Fujitaka cut in. "The major under sea current that runs by the UK comes from near the equator, pulling with it warmer air currents, allowing them to stay as warm as they do. So even though they're coming in close to the arctic circle, they can still go to the beach in the summer time, just like we do."

"This is an educational car ride," Sakura said sarcastically and both adults laughed. "So I guess we won't be seeing any snow while we're there huh?"

"Actually, contrary to popular belief, it rains more in England than it snows," Kaho said. "It's pretty rare actually, at least where I was living."

"You two should run a weather service…" Sakura mumbled.

"Very funny," Fujitaka replied.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Expecting a long, sleepless night, the people bound for England went to bed early, but surprised themselves by sleeping through the night, and were up early the next morning, resulting in all of them standing in the Kinomoto backyard at 7am, Sonomi off to the side to watch after bidding her daughter farewell.

"How is it that Tomoyo got to come along?" Fujitaka asked as he scratched the back of his head in curiosity.

"Who do you think I'd trust to make sure Sakura got back safely?" Sonomi asked.

Fujitaka resisted the urge to spring an energy ball under the woman's feet, "Oh…" he coughed to regain a little bit of composure he felt he'd lost, "Everyone have everything they need?"

"Yep," both young women said at the same time.

"You be careful," Sonomi told her daughter and Sakura.

"We will be mother," Tomoyo smiled.

Kaho walked up and asked, "Ready?"

"Yes," the all answered and moved around so they resembled a small circle.

"You do realize that we'll be in a bit of a predicament when we get there, right?" Kaho asked.

"How come?" Sakura asked.

Fujitaka slapped his forehead, "The time difference! I completely forgot!"

Kaho nodded, "Since we're nine hours ahead of England, if we leave now, we'll be getting there in the middle of the night."

"What should we do?" Tomoyo asked.

"Well, could wait until later in the afternoon to leave, then we would get there at a decent morning hour," the looks she recieved told her that _that_ option was not going to happen without a lot of bickering. They had anxiously been waiting to leave since yesterday afternoon. Telling, at least the teenagers, to wait any longer would have resulted in testy moods and antsyness for the rest of the day. With a sigh and a sweatdrop, Kaho continued, "Or we could leave now and haggle with the hotel to let us check in at an ungodly hour." The grins made the decision clear enough.

Sakura quickly grasped her father's and Tomoyo's hands, while Kaho took Tomoyo's and looked over at Fujitaka. Both hesitated as they moved their hands toward each other, unsure for a moment, before finally clasping hands.

Kaho closed her eyes and worked her magic through the other three that were around her, plus Kero, who was sitting on top of Sakura's hat. They had to be magically connected to her before she could move anywhere. Once they were all linked to her she had the task of concentrating while having all of their unguarded thoughts flowing through her mind.

_This feels so weird!!!_ Came from Kero

_It's all tingly,_ Sakura's thoughts were laced with a giggle.

_I hope I brought enough film…_had to be Tomoyo…

_How will I tell her?_ The thread from Fujitaka was like a highlighted page in a book. But for all the times she'd been given the chance to read further, she didn't, merely for the sake of privacy. It was none of her business what he was thinking, may it have been unguarded or not.

After pushing the voices away, she concentrated on the move. The familiar sensation of being weightless and almost numb came over her for a moment before it dissipated and she felt herself standing on solid ground, completely exhausted. She opened her eyes to make sure the others had materialized safely before she released Tomoyo's and Fujitaka's hands and dropped to her knees, letting the inevitable exhaustion wash over her.

"Ho-e, that was fast," Sakura said as she looked around as she pulled up her hood against the rain. "It's cold!"

Kaho finally began to feel the cold rain soaking her clothes and the bitter wind that accompanied it, "Oh great…it's one of those days…" She stood blindly and turned her head into the wind. "We'd best move quickly, the rain and wind aren't going to make this walk any easier." She shivered against the wind and looked back at her companions, all of them huddling into the coats they'd brought. She smiled, she was glad at least that they had them, even if she didn't. Turning away she headed west at a trot, hearing the others catch up she accelerated into a casual run, stopping only when they reached a stoplight. With the pitch-blackness of night, few people were out and about, but cars still passed by at a moderate rate, nightshifts on their comings and goings.

"Aren't you cold?" Fujitaka asked as he slowed to a halt next to her, shivering as he stood there.

"Yes," Kaho answered. "Very much so with a soaked sweater on, but I can't do much about it." She shrugged and watched the lights, waiting so she could dash across the street, hoping the run would warm her up some. She jumped when something warm wrapped around her and she looked over to find Fujitaka had taken off his coat and wrapped it around her and himself. He merely smiled at her as they scampered across the street, turning at the next corner and down another block.

In all it took a frigid fifteen minutes to get there, and once inside they were grateful of the extra heaters near the door. They took this time devise a way of getting themselves checked in at such a late hour. They knew for a fact that the rooms they were booked for were vacant, so it wouldn't have been a matter of preparing the room, only getting the hotel staff to work around mandatory check in times, which was normally for late afternoon.

"So, what's the excuse for getting here so late? Or early?" Fujitaka asked.

"Flight issues?" Kaho asked.

"We'd need a story for that..." Fujitaka pointed out.

Kaho pondered for a minute, struggling due to increasing fatigue, "Fujitaka, since you're an archaeologist, you travel a lot, right?"

"That's correct, even though I teach, I frequently go out on digs," the man nodded.

"You've had traveling issues then, I assume, where nothing goes as planned, and you end up somewhere either very late, or very earlier?" She continued her questioning.

"Yes," Fujitaka answered.

"Perfect, just act like how you would be feeling in that situation, grumpy and pissed off at the world," Kaho finished.

"But...things like that don't make me mad," Fujitaka shrank back a little at his inability to get annoyed or angry very easily.

It was Kaho's turn to smack herself on the forehead, "I forgot who I was talking to...again..." She ran her hand down her face in frustration, "Couldn't you just wing it?"

"Wait, how has it become my responsibility to get us checked in?" Fujitaka asked.

"I got us here…" Kaho pointed out. "And I'm out of practice with people skills. I spent more time running away from them, avoiding them, or having not very nice confrontations with them in the past year than I wish to think about."

"Point taken," Fujitaka grumbled in defeat.

Still damp, they walked up to the check in desk, Fujitaka speaking gruffly to the desk clerk, _"We have rooms reserved under the name Daidouji._

The man looked up at him like a he was crazy. _"I'm sorry sir, but we dun normally have check ins this late."_

Fujitaka covered up is uncertainties with a disgruntled look and quickly thought of something rude to say, _"Look, everything about our flight plans got altered, so we're here at this ungodly hour! We're soaked and tired, and all we want to do is get into dry clothes and get some sleep!"_

The desk clerk looked at him for a moment with a perturbed look on his face, then began furiously typing at his computer. He did a double check at the screen picking up two room key cards, encoding them with lock scanners, then handed them to Fujitaka, along with a look that begged he not be eaten.

"_Ay, would ya like some extra towels sen' up?"_ the clerk asked as they walked away.

He didn't need to be asked twice, _"Yes please!"_ He answered cheerily.

Kaho sighed and dragged him away quickly, "Now he's going to be very confused. First you're a grade A jackass at the desk, then Mr. Cheerful afterwards."

"Dad can't help being cheerful, that's just how he is," Sakura giggled as they made their way towards the elevators.

The ride up the elevator was silent and uneventful, as was the locating of the rooms. Once there though, Fujitaka sat there for a moment, trying to decide which room he and his daughter would take.

"Thanks Dad," Sakura said as she swiped a key from her father and opened one of the rooms, Tomoyo following, and the door quickly shut behind them.

"Wait a minute…" Fujitaka looked at the one room key in his hand, then over at the person whom he was going to share the room with. Both seemed a little dumbfounded for a moment, then both took a few steps away from each other in simultaneous shock, neither having thought about having to share a room with the other.

"Um…" Kaho wasn't sure how to go about this situation.

Fujitaka on the other hand, knocked twice on his daughter's door and said, "Very funny Sakura." And without another word he opened the door to the room next to his daughter's and walked in, holding the door open while Kaho scurried in behind him. Much to their relief, there were two beds in the room.

"Good…one thing I don't have to worry about being teased for," Fujitaka sighed as he tottered over to the far bed nearest to the adjoining room door and flopped down face first onto it. "Go change out of your wet clothes." He told her, his voice muffled between the mattress, "I'll wait for the towels."

Kaho merely blinked at him before doing as she was told. She changed quickly and stumbled back out as Fujitaka closed the room's door, holding a few extra towels, one of which he promptly dropped on her head. She grumbled as she made her way towards the other bed and reenacted what he had done a few moments before, falling face first onto the bed, but this time in plain exhaustion.

"What are we going to do about you three?" She asked as the man came out of the bathroom, dressed in dry clothes.

"What about us three?" Fujitaka asked, assuming she was speaking of himself, Sakura and Tomoyo.

"I'm going to easily be able to sleep through the rest of the tonight, but you three are going to be seriously sleep disoriented for a while unless you sleep as well," Kaho explained as she crawled up her bed to excavate a pillow from under the blankets and buried her face in it. After a moment more of contemplation, she turned her head so she could look over at him. "And I'm at a loss at how to get you out of the loop."

"Would Sakura's Sleep Card work?" Fujitaka asked.

"Maybe, I know it'd work on Tomoyo since she's a normal person and vulnerable to that type of magic, but Sakura won't be affected, and I'm not sure how resistant you'd be to it." She smothered a yawn with her pillow.

"I could just turn on the television and watch a reality TV show, those put me to sleep faster than a sleeping pill," Fujitaka smirked and had to quickly dodge a pillow that was tossed at him.

"Urf…now gimmi it back…" Kaho grumbled as she looked at him pathetically from where she lay on her bed.

"I bet if I tried to shove you off your bed, you'd not be able to stop me," Fujitaka said as he retrieved the thrown pillow and dropped it next to her, and she immediately threw it at him again, this time nailing him on the side of the head.

An evil grin tugged at the corner of his mouth and he easily yanked the woman gently off the bed and onto the floor, where she landed with a none too graceful, and fairly audible, thud.

Knowing he was just being playful, Kaho pulled herself up and crawled back up onto her bed, found her other pillow, and chucked it at him. He easily dodged it a swiped at her again, this time only getting her partway off the bed before she caught herself and fought against his arm. It was only then that she became aware of the fact that he had his arm wrapped around her waist and she froze at the contact. This made it easy for him to knock her off her bed again, but she didn't move when she hit the floor, merely sat there with her eyes locked down on the carpet.

"Did I hurt you?" He asked.

"No…I…" she looked up at him and was surprised to find his face a mere inch from hers. He had apparently been in the middle of kneeling down to make sure he hadn't hurt her and now their eyes had locked together, neither able to look away from the other. She heard herself mumble something like, "I'm...fine," while the distance between them began to fade slowly.

"Hey Dad, I didn't know that there was only one door between our rooms," Sakura said as she opened the adjoining door and surprised the two adults, causing them to fall over, one on top of the other. "Oh…was I interrupting something?" She asked slyly as Tomoyo peered around the doorframe with her camera and giggled.

"NO!" Both adult wriggled away from one another and dashed to their respective beds, both glowing in embarrassment at having fallen into what some would have considered an intimate position.

"Okay…" Sakura gave her father an 'uh huh' look before asking, "So what are we going to do? It's evening here and I'm wide awake."

"We were just discussing that," Fujitaka said.

"On the floor…?" Sakura asked smartly.

"No, Kaho'd whacked me with a pillow and I'd shoved her onto the floor," Fujitaka said.

"Hm…rough eh?" Kero asked as he floated into the room.

Fujitaka coughed at the double entendre, "No!" Kaho merely sat there in stunned silence at the thought.

"So, what do you think?" Sakura asked. "I could use Sleep."

"Would only work on Tomoyo, and possibly your father," Kaho shook her head. "If I had the magic, I'd cast a sleep spell."

"But you don't," Kero stated.

"No," Kaho hung her head in embarrassed defeat.

"Would Sakura or I be able to cast a sleep spell?" Fujitaka asked.

Kaho thought about it for a minute, "You could…but I'd have a problem giving you the spell."

"How so?" Fujitaka asked.

"One would obviously think the easiest way to do it would be for me to repeat the spell to you, but, since this spell is so basic, and no preparation is needed, the magic is derived straight from the words. Were I to recite it to you, I'd pass out."

"Could you write it down?" Fujitaka asked.

"Yes, but whether you'd be able to read it or not is yet to be discovered," Kaho said.

"What, got doctor's handwriting?" Fujitaka asked.

"No…" Kaho made a face at him, "Depending on the level of magic a particular person is at, spells are automatically set in a language that the user can either understand, or not. If the magic user is at the right level, he or she would be able to read it, if not, it'd just look like gibberish." Kaho answered.

"To make it so they don't bite off more than they can chew, right?" Fujitaka asked.

"Right," Kaho answered as she leaned over and pulled open the nightstand drawer and took out the constantly provided pad of paper and pen. She wrote on it for a few moments, then called Sakura and Fujitaka over to see if they could read it.

Sakura couldn't, but Fujitaka could.

"Why can't I read it?" Sakura asked.

Kaho pondered the discovery for a moment. She knew for a fact that Sakura's magic level was higher than her father's. Not by much since the man excelled in the subject, but it was still enough to give her an advantage. "It may be because you don't need a basic sleep spell, you already have a prefabricated one courtesy of Clow Reed."

"But not everyone is affected by Sleep," Sakura pointed out. "Like you for instance, and Syaoran. And probably Dad now too." The girl frowned, "How am I supposed to get around that?"

Kaho chuckled, "Actually, a group of magic users any bigger than two is actually pretty rare to be seen in one place. They're usually working together and would have no need to use a sleep spell on each other. Since ninety nine percent of the people you'll encounter will be completely magicless, you shouldn't worry. You just won't be able to use Sleep to sneak out of the house as you get older."

"I've always used my window…" Sakura said, then covered her mouth and looked at her father, "You didn't hear that!" Fujitaka merely scowled, then looked back over at Kaho.

"Let's just take care of the problem at hand," Fujitaka said as he took the paper from the woman.

"A word of warning," Kaho said. "The wielder of a sleeping spell isn't usually aiming on putting him or herself to sleep, so be aware that it may not work for you, and if it does, it may not last all night."

"Okay…" Fujitaka said he studied the paper, taking care not to murmur it to himself.

"The two of you should go get in bed," Kaho told the teenagers. "Once the spell is spoken, it will take affect." The girls nodded and scampered back to their rooms, Kero included.

Kaho watched as Fujitaka read the spell aloud, it didn't take long, and soon, right after the last of the words passed his lips, his fell back onto his pillow, fast asleep. Kaho smiled, partly with pride in his success, and partly in gleeful amusement, Fujitaka looked cute asleep!

She stood and removed the paper from Fujitaka's hand and tore it up, removed his glasses and set them on the nightstand, then went to check on Sakura, Tomoyo, and Kero. They too, were fast asleep.

With a tentative sigh of relief, Kaho stumbled back to her own bed and flopped down, letting sleep finally wrap itself around her exhausted body.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Kaho heard footsteps go by and she opened her eyes to the darkness of the hotel room. "What are you doing up?" She asked the man who had tried to put himself to sleep a few hours before.

"Seems the sleep spell didn't work quite like I wanted it to on me," Fujitaka answered as he paced.

"I warned you that it might not," Kaho said as she sat up a little and watched him pace back and forth. Her arms stung and she switched on one of the lamps, grimacing at the not quite blood soaked bandages. "Damn, and they'd been so good for a while." Her arms hadn't hurt this bad since she'd gotten the wounds, and she knew it was because she was closer to where the demon had originally resided for so long, it's power closer and stronger in this region than in Japan.

She got up and headed for the bathroom, pausing only once at her bag to fish out the first-aid kit she'd packed just in case. Fujitaka followed her, knowing it was going to be a two person job.

At first they'd tried to just keep her arms over the sink as they unwrapped them, but soon Fujitaka learned that that wasn't going to be enough to avoid a giant mess, so they moved over to kneel against the side of the bathtub/shower that was built against the wall.

"I thought they'd been getting a little better," Fujitaka said as he unwound the bandages from her left arm.

"So had I," Kaho remarked. "They'd even stopped hurting for the last few days."

"Do they hurt right now?" Fujitaka asked.

"More so than they did when I received them," Kaho answered truthfully.

"Why?" He wasn't sure if she could answer the question, but his natural curiosity pushed him to ask.

"It's because this is where the demon has settled itself. It can move about the world just as easily as you or I can, but there's a certain place that a demon will chose to make its home. That is where it will be the strongest." Kaho tried to explain.

"I see," Fujitaka said as he finished cutting away the remains of the bandages on her left arm and started on her right, listening to the sickening sound of the other bandages hitting the tub with a wet splat. The right arm's bandages came off quicker then the left's and soon both of her arms were dripping red fluid steadily into the tub while Fujitaka arranged the things he needed to clean and re-bandage the wounds.

He quickly rinsed the wounds with an antiseptic wash, the part he knew was going to hurt the most, then tried to close them up. He frowned in his work, the minute his fingers broke contact with the healed flesh it tore back open on it's own accord. He tried twice more to keep them closed, but when he realized that each time the wounds tore open Kaho would flinch and grind her teeth, he knew he was causing her more pain than good and gave up. Instead, he bandaged the wounds as tightly as he could without cutting off circulation to her hands.

He sat back when he was through and looked at her face, surprised to see tears pooling at the corner of her eyes. In all the time she'd been there, and all the time he'd healed or re-bandaged her arms she'd never once complained, or showed she was in pain. He'd never seen her cry either, but he was unaware of the time she'd cried herself to sleep on Christmas night.

Without thinking, the man lifted his hand and brushed away the tears threatening to fall from the corner of her left eye. His touch must have startled her, because she jumped and her head jerked up to look at him.

"I…um…" he found himself lost for words from the look in her eyes. Behind the pain and the fear he could see something more, something directed at only him. It was a look he hadn't seen in a long time, so he had trouble placing it, but when he finally filtered out the other emotions veiling the look, he could finally identify it.

Love

It was then he realized his hand was still up, his fingers brushing against her cheekbone. He pulled away and watched as her eyes lost the emotion that had flashed in them for a only a moment. She looked away, down into the tub, frowning at the blood as it made its way down to the drain. Without a second thought, she set a confined, white fire onto the blood and bandages. It burned smokeless and odorless, as though it weren't even there in the first place.

Fujitaka watched warily as the white flames licked at the shower curtain, certain that it would catch fire, but Kaho assured him differently.

"It will only burn what I want it to," she murmured as she watched the bleached blaze. As it died away she stood up and left the bathroom, Fujitaka watching her leave with a frown still clinging to his face. He waited until the flames were completely extinguished before he stood from the bathroom floor and walked back out into the room. He expected to find Kaho asleep once again, but was surprised when he found her sitting hunched over at the foot of her bed, her face buried in her hands.

"Kaho?" Fujitaka called her name as he stepped closer.

"I'm fine," her voice cracked as she looked up at him. He noticed she didn't look straight at him though, specifically avoiding his eyes.

_Liar_, he thought. Everything was coming back to her, emotionally and physically. He was watching every single emotional barrier she had set up begin to crumble, and she was fighting it every step of the way.

Tentatively, he reached out a hand and rested it on her left shoulder, "You're not fine." She flinched at his hand on her shoulder and went to deny him, but he used one finger against her lips to stop her, "Stop fighting it. The more you wait to let this all go the worse it will be. And it will likely come at the least opportune time, making it even more dangerous." He watched as long held back tears began to run down her cheeks. "It's all right to cry."

Kaho shook her head and clamped her eyes shut, pulling away from his hand, "I'm fine!"

He sat down next to her and pulled her into a fierce hug. He felt her trembling and said, "Let go." She shuddered once, then felt her begin to sob. "Good girl."

They sat there in silence for a while. No words were passed between them, none were needed. The comfort of his embrace was more soothing than any string of warm words could have ever been for her. She let every fear, worry, all her pain, and even some anger, out in her tears. She made no sound, except for brief intakes of breath every now and again. The woman quieted sometime later, almost dozing off in the warmth and comfort of the man's arms. Then her rational mind returned and she sat up quickly and scooted a few inches away.

"Sorry…" the woman murmured.

"For what?" Fujitaka asked. "There's no need to apologize for something so human. You've been through a lot, probably more than I realize right now, and have had no time to sit back and just…relax and let yourself react to all of the things that have happened, instead of just being in survival mode."

"I guess," Kaho didn't look at him all the same. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Fujitaka smiled at her and she again felt her insides flutter. The man wandered back over to his bed and flopped down on his face. "Now if I could only sleep…"

Kaho thought for a moment, "I can get you to sleep," she said from where she sat on her bed. "But…"

"But what?" Fujitaka asked as he rolled over.

She blushed and cleared her throat, "With the amount of magic I have right now, putting people to sleep the way you need to be takes…a type of intimate contact."

"Oh," Fujitaka's facial coloring began to mirror her own. "How…intimate?"

"Pretty intimate…" Kaho clamped her eyes closed, trying not to blush anymore. "But you won't remember it…"

"Really?" Fujitaka asked. "Guess it makes sense though, if it works similar to how serious sleep medications work, you don't remember much from before the injection either."

"It's very similar," Kaho nodded. "If…you want to be put to sleep that way…"

"Are there any other ways?" Fujitaka asked.

"I could hit you," that was laced with a snigger.

"I think I'd rather have it the other way," Fujitaka said quickly, knowing a whack to knock him out would be anything but painless.

"You're serious?" Kaho asked in disbelief.

"I've been awake for three hours and I know I'm not going to do myself any good by staying awake much longer," Fujitaka said. "Just keep you up, apparently. So I think we can write this off as an, 'it needed to be done, nothing more' kind of thing."

Kaho blinked a few times as she thought a few things through, then stood slowly from her seat at the edge of her bed. She walked over and sat next to him, avoiding eye contact for a moment, "You do realize that this feels really awkward."

"Well I knew it wasn't just me who felt that way," Fujitaka said.

Kaho finally looked over at him with a sympathetic smile, "How is it that you and I always seem to get stuck in these situations?"

"Well, I think most of it is their fault," Fujitaka said as he pointed to the wall of Sakura and Tomoyo's room. "Like the mistletoe and us in the same room, but this one…I think was inevitable…" Kaho glared at one of the buttons on his pajama top, "What are you doing?"

"I can still think of a way that this would be their fault," Kaho answered and Fujitaka laughed, breaking the ice on the situation. Kaho shook her head, trying to get her eyes to stay open a bit longer.

"May as well get this over with so you don't fall asleep on top of me," Fujitaka said. "And you know they'd find us."

"Oh yeah, like I really need that image in Tomoyo's video collection…" Kaho murmured as she settled her gaze square with his, "You sure you want me to do this?"

"You ask for a lot of permission and assurance for someone so adept in magic," Fujitaka said.

"It's only when I'm working magic on someone else," Kaho said. "I need to make sure they fully accept what they're getting into, because there could be side affects that are inevitable, and they need to deal with them whether they like it or not. It's so they understand that it was their choice and they agreed to it."

"Dealing with the consequences of their actions?" He asked.

"Right," Kaho answered a nod.

"I say as long as our reputations stay intact, then it's fine," Fujitaka said.

Kaho stared at him, a stupid look etched into her face, "Fujitaka, the minute you and I entered this room by ourselves our reputations were impaled with long wooden pikes and stuck in the ground for all to see."

He chewed on those words for a minute, then his face took on the same stupid look, "Guess you're right…"

Steeling herself, Kaho leaned up quickly and let her lips brush against his, starting the spell she needed to send him to sleep.

Feeling as though his lips had just been zapped by electricity, Fujitaka sat there stunned for a moment, trying to set his senses straight as to exactly what was happening. It had all started so quickly, he hadn't even had time to brace himself, and now he found himself being kissed by the woman almost sitting in his lap. He kept fighting with his unconscious mind and body to hold still even though he wanted to at least wrap his arms around her. His fight become almost impossible when he felt her deepen the kiss, and the magic begin to take hold.

She hated to admit it, but somewhere a part of her was selfishly enjoying this, even though she had a distinct feeling Fujitaka might not have been. Judging from how much he kept stiffening up and flinching. Shocked shot through her when she felt his arms wrap around her waist. She checked on his mental condition and realized that most of it was natural reaction due to his state of mind, being in and out of sleep. When a body is on the threshold of sleep and wakefulness, ones natural reaction is to hold onto something, be it a person or a pillow, or for young children, a doll or other toy. It was the mind's unconscious way of feeling safe when going off alone into the world of sleep.

When she finally felt the spell take hold, the woman pulled away and watched his eyes fall closed. A giggle bubble up her throat as he fell back onto his pillow with an undignified thud. Much to her disappointment though, his hold around her waist didn't waver and she was locked in his grip, stuck on the same bed. Trying to reach around to pry his hands open would have only made her fall on top of him, possibly breaking the delicate spell she'd set in place.

_This isn't going to go over well…_ Kaho thought to herself as she tried to wriggle free from his grasp, with no success. By then though she was too tired to care, "Tomorrow morning is going to be fun…" she murmured sarcastically as she managed to get herself at least to Fujitaka's right side so she could lay comfortably before slipping into sleep herself, dreading what the morning sunlight would bring.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Fujitaka's eyes fluttered open to the sunlight streaming in through the hotel window, surprise quickly replacing any grogginess he possessed. He wasn't alone in his bed! In fact, he found himself with his arms wrapped comfortably around Kaho's sleeping form and thought back as to what could have caused them to end up in such a position.

"We talked about her putting me to sleep with magic…" he murmured to himself as he gently disentangled himself from her and sat up a little. Then he remembered how she had needed intimate contact to put him to sleep, "I must have held onto her after falling asleep." He smiled down at the woman sleeping next to him before settling back down to doze.

Kaho awoke not too long after and held herself still for a moment, unsure of where she was. Memories quickly remedied much of her confusion, leaving her with only her thoughts on how they were going to react to each other once Fujitaka awoke.

"I'm already awake," Fujitaka said, his eyes still closed.

Kaho jumped involuntarily at the sound of his voice, "Uh…"

"I say, as long as Sakura and Tomoyo don't walk in and find us like this, then there's nothing for either of us to talk about," the man said as he sat up and smiled down at her. "Thanks by the way, I haven't slept that well in a while."

"Uh…" Kaho repeated, then the color drained from her face when a knock came from the adjoining door. They stared at each other for a moment before Fujitaka reacted.

"Hang on a minute!" He said before both of the adults struggled to disentangle themselves from the bed sheets and blankets. Kaho sprang for her bed to mangle her blankets somewhat, to make it look like she'd actually slept in it, while Fujitaka slowly headed towards the door. He looked over at Kaho as she crawled onto her bed and held onto a pillow to make it look like she'd just woken up before he opened the door to admit the two pajama clad teenagers on the other side.

Sakura yawned, "Good morning."

"Good morning Sakura, did you two sleep well?" Her father asked.

"Like babies," Tomoyo smiled. "How about you?"

"The same, though some of us didn't need any help," Fujitaka lied as he turned and scowled at the woman cuddled up with a pillow.

Kaho'd been pretending to doze and cracked open an eye at his comment, "You move five living beings halfway across the globe in a few seconds and tell me how tired you are."

"Point taken," Fujitaka smirked as she played along easily with the lie.

"Are we going to do it?" Sakura asked. "Today I mean. Are we even ready?"

"Waiting any longer will just allow the demon to become stronger," Kaho said as she released her pillow and stood up. She lifted the sleeves of her pj top and inspected the bandaging underneath. They seemed to be holding up better than they had the night before.

"Oh!" Tomoyo startled all of them as she rushed back into the other room, returning with three folded bundles of clothes.

"What are those?" Sakura asked warily, somewhere in the back of her mind something was telling her she already knew.

"Why they're your battle costumes of course," Tomoyo answered and the other three in the room visibly flinched and sweat-dropped.

"Tomoyo…don't you think the costumes are a little old?" Sakura asked.

"Not at all," Tomoyo smiled. "They've done exactly what I've wanted them to for so long, I can hardly think of letting the people I care for go out without them."

"I don't understand," Fujitaka frowned.

Sakura's eyes lit up, "I do, she explained the reason for the costumes to us when we were going to capture the Nameless Card." She looked at her best friend, "I think it's your place to explain it."

Tomoyo nodded with a smile, "I have you wear my costumes so I know you will come back to me. Sakura thought for a time it was just to return the costume, but it really meant that you would return to me, safe and sound. The condition of the costumes always tell me how hard the battle was, and how safe you kept yourself through it."

Kaho smiled, "I see…"

"Me too," Fujitaka said as he unfolded his costume with a sigh. "Okay, let's go change." The joy that spread itself across Tomoyo's face made him smile.

Not long after they were again gathered in Fujitaka and Kaho's room, this time three of the humans in simplistic costumes of Tomoyo's design. Each wore a long, loose necked tunic with matching pants and a sash tied at the waist. On their backs was a symbol, different for each person, that showed their power source. Sakura, in a warm shade of pink, sported a star, Fujitaka, in a dark navy blue, a sun and a moon, while Kaho, in plain black, just had a moon.

"Why is Kaho's waist sash outrageously long Tomoyo?" Sakura asked as the woman walked up carrying it.

"Because it's going to double as an emergency bandage," Tomoyo said as she took the black sash from the woman, folded it in half, then wrapped it around her waist three times before tying it off at the same length as everyone else's. "You're too skinny," Tomoyo muttered when she finished.

"Finally! Someone who agrees with me," Fujitaka chuckled and Kaho gave him a scowl and poked her tongue out at him like a small child.

"So how are we going to get there?" Sakura asked and they all looked at Kaho.

The woman put her tongue away quickly and backed up a step, "No way, I'm not phasing us there, I'd be unwillingly napping in the middle of a fight…"

"Guess we're flying then," Sakura said as she took a quick count, "Er…maybe not. Kero can't carry two adults, and I can only carry someone for a short distance, and no bigger than Tomoyo."

Kaho sighed, "I can phase myself there without using much energy."

"But we don't know how to get there," Tomoyo pointed out.

"I never said I was going to get there in one jump," Kaho smiled, "When I can, I'll hop roof tops and follow you guys."

"Is that wise? More so, is it safe?" Fujitaka asked.

"I've done it before, multiple times in fact," Kaho smirked. "Somewhere in my mind, I find it fun." The smirked turned into a vain grin of delight.

Fujitaka sighed, "Okay, if we're ready, let's go."

OOOO

The way there was uneventful, much to their joy. Kero and Sakura only had to keep an eye on Kaho as they flew, making sure she kept within their sight so they could follow her.

Of course, the people flying were up much higher in the air than the woman who was roof hopping, and it was easy to lose sight of her. When they did, Kero would breath a small, but steady stream of fire until Kaho, who looked up briefly as often as possible, saw it and paused in movement and sent up a flare that would only be visible to magic users.

Unfortunately for Tomoyo, that meant she couldn't see anything, but contented herself by focusing her camera out on the scenery of England.

When they were close enough, Kaho phased all the way up to their level and silently pointed to the large manor set up on a hill side. When they found what she was pointing at, they nodded and she phased away as she began to fall. As they landed on the porch, Kaho appeared in swirl of what looked like sand or dust.

"You know, I noticed this on our way here," Fujitaka started, "Every time you phase in and out, you look sort of…dusty…or sandy."

Kaho smirked a little, "Phasing involves me breaking down everything in my body to the tiniest molecule, then moving it around as I've told you. That process is visible to a fault, and it appears like I'm disappearing into dust, or even turning into mist as I leave, because those are air molecules attaching themselves to my molecules, or yours, or whoever else I'm taking with me. They're like visible tag-alongs. It's the same way when I phase back in, except this time I'm shedding the molecules that have held on while on the ride, so it looks like I'm appearing in mist or dust, just as you saw."

"Ow…" Sakura mumbled as she tried to take all of that information in at once.

Kaho chuckled, "That's why I usually refrain from explaining it." The amusement quickly disappeared as she reached for the doorknob. It was unlocked, and the door creaked ominously as it slowly swung open.

Inside was dark, eerily still. Shadows played off of everything and made things seem twice as big. Cobwebs hung from everywhere, and the floor moaned under their feet as the walked in.

"How long has it been since you've been in here?" Tomoyo asked as she pulled out her video camera.

"A little over a year," Kaho answered.

"Then why does it look like nothing's been touched for at least half a century?" Fujitaka asked as he rubbed his arms, feeling unexpected chills.

"That's the ability of any demon," Kaho said as she calmly head towards a staircase, "To destroy whatever it sees, in whatever way it sees fit. Some like mass, quick destruction, and others, like the one we've been encountering, enjoys slow, painful torment. And it shows here as well as it's slowly rotting this beautiful mansion away, from this inside out." Her hand touched the decorative wooden banister of the staircase, and parts of it fell away. "This place used to be warm and inviting," Kaho continued as she carefully made her way up the stairs. "A home that little girls dream about when they go sleep at night. It was old yes, but it was still majestic, and was always taken good care of." They reached the top of the stairs and Kaho turned left down a hallway. Evidence of fighting was everywhere. Walls had burn marks on them, cracked or shredded in other places. "To come back to it like this…makes me realize how much has happened, in so short a time." She brought up her right hand as she walked and trailed her fingers through the ash that coated one of the walls, draw nonsense lines as she went.

Fujitaka could see pain in her eyes, and he realized she was reliving what had happened that day all that time ago.

They reached a door and Kaho paused to look at it, then turned her gaze upon the wall just opposite it. It was warped, and strange burn marks swirled around it. She walked over to it and crouched down, drawing her right hand down the wall and down to the floor, a shining layer of dust being lifted and floated around her.

"Nakuru…" the woman murmured the fallen guardian's name and closed her eyes, remembering that fateful day.

She forced open the door, but the minute it swung open she wished she'd just left it alone. Inside was a windy, black, storming mass that could have only been the raw beginnings of a portal.

Eriol hung in the center of it, rage written across his face at being interrupted. It had been then that Kaho had realized that Eriol was no longer in control, and slowly began to back away, Nakuru right behind her.

The demon set it's glowing red eyes on her and gave an inhuman growl.

"Can you reach him?" Kaho asked the butterfly guardian.

"No, he's buried too far down in the demon's consciousness," Nakuru replied. "I'd be shocked if he could actually see what was happening, but I pray that he can't."

Kaho turned her gaze back to Eriol and her eyes widened. In the brief seconds that the two of them had taken their eyes off of him, the demon had summoned up a hazy ball of destructive energy, and was now aiming straight at them.

"Run!" Nakuru said as she pushed Kaho away as the blast was sent in their direction.

She had been thrown away from the direct blast, but the repercussions hit her hard. The backlash of power washed over her and almost completely gleaned her of any sort of useful magic she had. When the dust cleared, Nakuru had been nowhere to be found.

Kaho looked up as Eriol floated out of the room, and, like a monster from a small child's nightmare, he started towards her. She scrambled to her feet and raced down the hallway, coming across Spinel as she passed the staircase.

"Hide!" She shouted at him, and the guardian hadn't needed any further prompting.

Kaho closed her eyes to rid herself of the memories, but she knew they would never fade.

"Is this it?" Fujitaka asked as he gestured towards the door.

Kaho nodded as she stood and turned around to look at the rest of them. The man walked over to the door and made to open it, but was stopped in his tracks as bolts of crimson lightning shot from the doorknob and caught his hand, throwing him backwards and into the wall.

Touching the doorknob wasn't an option, so after Kaho made sure Fujitaka had suffered no ill effects from the shock and being thrown against the wall, she turned and landed a swift kick against the door, hoping to pop the bolt and swing it open. There was a welcome sound of splintering wood and the doorknob broke off as the door swung open, then promptly disappeared as it was sucked into the vortex that was now then entire room.

It was no longer the swirling, wild black storm she remembered it being when she'd seen in the first time. Now it was a steady midnight blue hue that circled slowly in the confines of the room.

Fujitaka looked over at Kaho, who stared at the dark swirls, eyes distant, "What are you thinking about?"

"That I'm about to step into my death," she answered, loud enough for him to hear, but not for the two girls and the Guardian.

Fujitaka opened his mouth to say something, but Kaho released her hold on the remains of the door jam and allowed herself to fall into the vortex. Sakura immediately followed, Kero at her heels. Tomoyo was only a few seconds behind, while Fujitaka stood there a moment as he watched all of their forms fade into the darkness.

"No one is going to let you die," Fujitaka murmured as he finally let go of the door jam and fell into the darkness too, his eyes falling closed as gravity pulled him into the portal's dark embrace.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Kaho felt herself falling weightlessly for a long time. It was cold, but her body felt numb, limp and exhausted. Even the easiest task, such as opening her eyes, proved difficult. But when she finally managed, what she saw, was something she would never forget. They were falling through darkness, speckled with tiny white lights. Lights that some people would have called stars…if they had twinkled. No, these weren't stars, they were souls. Souls that the demon had taken over time and had stored away. They were the source of his power, the reason why he was so strong here in England. And there were millions of them floating around them.

In there somewhere was Nakuru's soul, along with the countless other victims that happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, as Kaho had been running by, trying to survive the demon's onslaught of attacks.

She felt tears well up in her eyes, _So many lost…how many of them were my fault…? _The tears trickled down her face and sprinkled into the weightless darkness as she closed her eyes against the glow, trying to hide from the souls that watched them as they fell.

Something dappled against his face as Fujitaka struggled to open his eyes. He too felt the cold, overpowering darkness that they were floating through, and was having the same difficulties that Kaho had. When he felt the trickle of wetness hit his face, he somehow managed to pry his eyes open. He was surprised when he saw all of the brilliant little lights that surrounded them. He, unlike Kaho, had no idea what they were, or how they had any relationship to the demon, but seeing them had the same, unconscious effect. He couldn't explain why the sight brought tears to his eyes, but they did all the same.

He cocked his head up to look down at the people falling in front of him, and noticed something glittering coming off of Kaho every once and a while. On closer inspection, he realized that they were tears, the same tears he was shedding now. He realized she had done the smart thing, she had closed her eyes against the brilliant, but upsetting beauty that they were falling through.

Fujitaka let his eyes fall closed as he sent up hopeful thoughts that their falling would end soon.

What he didn't know was that beyond that point, he would wish he was still falling among those lost, and sometimes forgotten, souls.

OOOO

When they came to again, they had stopped falling, and were lying on a floor of smooth, gray, endless cold stone. Everywhere but right where the were was pitch black. Where they lay came was a small, bluish white glow that none of them could explain.

"What was that?" Sakura asked as they all sat up, some groaning in odd discomfort. "And what were all those lights?"

"What we fell through was a tunnel that led to the demon's domain," Kaho answered as she began to stand. "And those lights you saw are souls of the people he's killed over the ages. By the number of them, you can get the idea that he's quite old, and quite experienced at destruction."

"Why are they all up there?" Tomoyo asked as she looked up, "Shouldn't they have departed to wherever it is they go to?"

"Not if you are killed by a demon," Kaho said as she formed a light-ball in her hand and looked around, trying to locate a path. "A demon hoards the souls that it kills, using them to strengthen its power." She found a place where the stone walls fell away and slowly began walking, "The more souls there are, the more powerful the demon."

"It hurt to look at them," Fujitaka stated flatly.

"Yes, it does," Kaho said as she walked on.

"Why?" Sakura asked. She too had felt the overwhelming sadness when she'd caught glimpses of the souls.

"What human would ever want to see a soul, who had done nothing wrong, lost and locked away, never allowed to be at peace?" Kaho asked.

"No sane one," Fujitaka answered.

"Exactly," Kaho said as she paused in her stride to look back at him with a nod before continuing on. "It's part of who we are. Being human means you can empathize, and sympathize, with people. Feel and share their pain like it were your own, even if you've never experienced it yourself. Demons cannot. Of course they feel pain and sadness, but they thrive on those emotions, not like we humans do."

"You know a lot about this," Tomoyo stated.

"When you're on the road, you learn things…" Kaho murmured. "From other people, and from yourself."

The rest of group frowned at Kaho's words, none of them having wished to come by such information, and how she had, and what she learned, made them wonder all the more as to what she had gone through.

When Sakura thought about it, she could still see the woman who had once been her teacher, her friend, and unknowingly, her guide as she had been collecting all of the Clow Cards. She had never once seen the woman as anything but placid or in some state of happiness. She couldn't remember a time where the woman had gotten angry, or even had a frown on her face.

Now though, there seemed to be a darkness to her, not an evil darkness, but a depression that would never fade as long as she lived. Everything she had seen and gone through had created a new side to her personality, a side that had learned to cope with the horrors she had witnessed and helped her move forward. To some people, she would probably come off as being rather cold, but for the people who understood what she'd been through, would be able to see right through the reaction, and see just a normal person, trying to stay as sane as possible.

The group continued walking in silence until they started to see a dim light coming from far off. It was enough to keep their path lit and Kaho extinguished her little light-ball to conserve energy. As they drew nearer to the light source they began to see that it wasn't a light, but an opening into a large cavern. When they stepped inside, they were mildly confused as to what they found.

"A racing track?" Sakura asked as they surveyed the room.

"In the middle of a cave?" Fujitaka was just as confused.

Kaho smiled, "Eriol is still in there somewhere."

Sakura's eyes brightened at the mentioning of the young man, "Like when he was helping me change my Cards into Sakura Cards."

"Exactly," Kaho nodded.

"Huh?" None of this was helping Fujitaka.

"When I had to change the Clow Cards to Sakura Cards, Eriol would put me in situations where I needed to change a Card and give it a task so it could be done safely. Of course, I didn't know it was Eriol at the time." Sakura explained. "Releasing a Card without giving it any instructions can be dangerous, it could bolt or become confused and attack someone."

"So you're saying we have to complete whatever task has been set so we can move on?" Fujitaka asked.

"Technically, yes," Kaho answered, "But it seems these tasks are meant for one person alone to accomplish." She indicated that there were only two places on the track for runners.

"So one of you will have to decide which is going to race," Tomoyo finished.

Something black and smoky appeared near the starting line of the track and looked over and them with a wicked grin, mouth full of razor sharp teeth.

"And that seems to be our opponent…" Fujitaka said grimly. "So, who shall run?"

Kaho back out immediately, knowing her stamina in running wouldn't amount to anything, leaving it up to the man and the teenager before her. Fujitaka dug into his pocket and produced a coin, flipping it to see who would race the smoky minion.

"Heads!" Sakura called out as her father flipped the coin. It flipped high above their heads before tumbling back towards the earth and into Fujitaka's outstretched hand. He slapped on the back of his free and hand smirked.

"Tails."

"Be careful," Kaho murmured as Fujitaka stuffed the coin back into his pocket and strolled over to the starting line.

"Don't worry too much," Sakura said. "Dad's the most athletic person in our family. If anything, he's the best choice for this task."

Kaho frowned, "That doesn't make me any less worried."

Fujitaka stood next to the grinning little devil for a moment as he watching the board light up with the English word, **Ready**

He stood ready as he waited for the board to change again, shuddering when the demon turned its demonic grin towards him.

**Set**

Both dropped to a runner's ready stance and locked eyes on the board.

**Go!!**

Before he had even a chance to move the shadowy minion slammed into him, knocking Fujitaka to the floor and biting him on the arm. Sharp teeth easily tore into the flesh of his arm before tearing back, leaving him with a giant gash on his forearm near his elbow. Content in its attack, the minion started off, skipping merely down the track with a large, bloody grin spread across its dark face.

"Fujitaka!" Kaho shouted and ran for the starting line, Sakura at her heels. But before she could get much closer, shadowy vines shot from the floor and wrapped themselves tightly around Kaho and Sakura, knocking them to the floor and holding them in place. Tomoyo trotted over and tried to pull the vines from Sakura, but nothing would make them budge.

Ignoring his bleeding arm, Fujitaka stood and ran after the prancing minion. He easily blew by the little devil and took the lead, smiling to himself as sprinted a little farther ahead.

"That was too easy," Tomoyo observed and watched the demon stop short. "Uh oh."

"Look out behind you!" Kaho had wriggled free of the bindings around her mouth just in time to shout the warning.

Fujitaka looking behind him a second too late, the minion having flown up next to him and bit him in the calf. As had the first bite, this felt like millions of knives entering his flesh and a red hot temperature, sending him to the floor instantly. But with it's deed done, the minion stood up and began its merry dance towards the finish line once again.

"No! Dad!" Sakura shouted, "You have to get up!" As she spoke, smoky vines wrapped around her mouth and cut off her ability to speak as had Kaho's.

Fujitaka struggled to pull himself to his feet, his whole left side throbbing in a pain he'd never experienced before. It was like lightening was hitting him and not intending on stopping until he laid down and died. But he had no such intentions, and instead accepted the pain and continued to struggle along the track, again passing the frolicking demon and getting closer to the finish line. Again the minion sought its revenge and flew straight at him.

_Shield yourself!!_ A voice cut through the pain filled haze of his mind and he threw up a sphere like shield around him as he ran and he heard the satisfying thud of the demon bouncing off of it.

_I need you to concentrate,_ said the voice, _Focus offensive energy in waves through your shield as you run. Can you do that for me?_ Fujitaka nodded. _Do that, it may hold it off longer._ He did so while running at a weak trot and heard another satisfying sound, that of the minion fizzing and popping as it hit the energized shield and exploded. _Well that was easy…_ muttered the voice again and Fujitaka chuckled.

He stumbled to the finish line and collapsed on the other side. The sound of something snapping and disintegrating met his ear, then the sound of footsteps running in his direction. His daughter's voice sounded like music.

"Dad! Are you all right?" Sakura asked as she skidded to a halt and knelt down next to him.

"I was just chewed on by a Gremlin! What do you think?" Fujitaka muttered, then jumped at the feeling of cool fingers on his arm and leg wounds.

"Shh, it's just me," Kaho murmured as she healed his wounds quickly.

"Am I going to have to sleep this off?" He asked.

"No," she answered flatly.

"Good," he said as he sat up to watch her work. Much to his surprise, the view was something interest. His wounds were knitting themselves back together as if someone had pressed the rewind button on a remote control. By the time they were closed, no scar remained and the blood was erased away as though it had never occurred. The only thing that gave it away was the tears in his clothes, which he was an easy price to pay considering what had just been under those tears.

"Thanks," he flexed his arm and didn't even find it stiff or sore.

"Sure," she smiled, the looked up as a foreign sound reached her ears.

They looked around and found the source to be a pedestal appearing from underground, hold a shining crystal globe on top of it. Fujitaka stood up and walked over to the pedestal and found a message carved into the stone.

"For the one that succeeded, all you must do is crush the shining light to continue," he read aloud. "Does that mean I have to crush this thing?" He asked as he picked up the golf ball sized spherical crystal in his hand and examined it.

"That would be my guess," Kaho said as she read the note again.

He shrugged and added pressure to the globe in his palm and felt a satisfying crunch coming from it. He continued to add pressure and he felt it shatter in his fisted hand. They heard what sounded like a door sliding open as he dropped the shattered crystal shards to the ground and they looked around.

"Up there," Sakura pointed up a flight of stone steps to a hole in the cavern wall.

Without speaking to each other, they began their trek down the next tunnel. As they walked through darkness, Fujitaka began to wonder who's voice it had been that had prompted him to remember to use his shielding abilities as he ran.

_That was me,_ came the voice again, but this time he recognized it and looked over at Kaho, who was walking next to him. _It's all right, no one can hear me but you, and you can respond to me in the same way, I'll make sure neither of them hear you./i_

It took him a moment to get used to the unfamiliar way of speaking, _Did I know we could do this? _

_No, and I can't do it with just anyone,_ Kaho told him.

_How come?_ The man was curious.

_Because I…um…_ she made a sound that seemed like she was clearing her throat,_ need to have had…intimate contact with the other person to be able to do this._

_Intimate contact? When have we ever had…oh… _he remembered the night before when she'd put him to sleep, the deed having needed to be done through a rather intimate kiss. He looked over at her and found her cheeks dusted with a light blush and he knew his probably looked the same. _Well, it did come in handy._

Kaho gave him a small smile, _We may yet have more use for it ahead._

_I wouldn't doubt it_, Fujitaka said with a nod.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The tunnel opened up into yet another cavern, but this one was completely empty, save for a crystal, very similar to the one Fujitaka had had to break, hanging from the ceiling.

"I'll get this one," Sakura said as she released The Fly and started making her way up.

"This is too easy," Kaho murmured.

"I thought so," Fujitaka said as he kept his eyes locked on his daughter.

The girl had made it about halfway up when the ground started to tremble and the four on the ground started looking around frantically for the problem. Vines, tree trunks thick, covered in giant thorns, erupted from the ground right under Sakura and shot straight for her.

"SAKURA!" Her father shouted, and out of the corner of his eye he watched Kaho disappear, only to reappear quickly as she slammed into a barrier, landing unceremoniously on her back with her butt and legs sticking straight up in the air.

Fujitaka ran up to the invisible barrier and watched as his daughter dodged and worked her way around the fiercely whipping, dangerous vines.

Kaho did a backwards roll to her feet and stood up, ignoring the fact that Tomoyo had gotten that whole thing on video and stared angrily at the barrier in front of them. A glance at Sakura only deepened her rage as she watched the girl zip around frantically trying to avoid getting smashed.

"Quick lesson on shooting," Kaho said as she walked up to the barrier and placed her hands on it. "Just like creating light and shields, summon your magic to your hands, make sure it's destructive, and release it."

"Okay," Fujitaka answered as he pressed his hands against the barrier like she had done.

Kaho released several strong energy beams straight into the barrier, and it let off a low, almost bell like toll as it was hit and absorbed the attacks.

Fujitaka tried the same thing, though his flared and were a little messy, but got the same result as the woman. Both were left staring up at the teenager who was trying with everything she had to get to the crystal, fingers crossed that she would succeed without being harmed.

OOOO

"HO-EEEEEEEH!" Sakura screamed as she dodged yet another rock solid vine. "Shield!"

The Shield made it so she wasn't hit directly by the vines as she flew, but now she had converted herself into a living super-ball. Each time she was hit she'd get knocked into another vine, which promptly smashed her into another.

The girl moaned as she tried to focus in on her goal and nearly started crying when she realized how far she still had to go. She'd been knocked back so far that she was nearly back to where she had started.

Frustrated, Sakura pulled out two Cards and dropped the Shield Card. "Dash! Through!" With power and determination, Sakura knew she'd be able pass through any of the vines that got in her way.

Part of her wondered why she hadn't thought to do this sooner as she easily closed the distance between herself and where the crystal was hanging. She smiled when she finally reached it, but had to drop the Through and Dash so she could grasp the crystal without missing. It crushed in her hand easily, as did the bones in her right arm as a giant rock smashed into her as the ceiling collapsed on top of the teenager.

OOOO

"SAKURA!" Both of the adults, Kero, and Tomoyo screamed as the roof of the cavern came crashing down on top of her.

The barrier that had kept them away from Sakura flickered and collapsed after the last of the stones had hit the ground and they set out to find her. They knew she'd be stuck under stone and rubble and needed to get her out as fast as possible.

"She's over here!" Tomoyo shouted after a few moments of searching.

Fujitaka and Kaho picked their way over, but both stopped dead in their tracks before they completely reach her. They both had known the girls wasn't going to come out unscathed, but they'd never expected something so severe. Her upper right arm was badly broken to the point where bone was protruding from the skin where a large laceration proved to be half the cause for the injury.

Sakura was staring at the wound, shaking, eyes wide and unblinking and both adults recognized the beginnings of shock when they saw it and rushed in to hold it back.

"Sakura," Fujitaka called his daughter name as he knelt next to her, but with his inexperience with such brutal injuries, he too was being drawn into shock at the realization that this was his daughter that was hurt so badly.

With more experience under her belt, Kaho ignored the wound for a moment and said, "Sakura look at me." At first the girl didn't respond, "Look at me!" With a jerk, Sakura pulled her eyes away from her broken arm and up into Kaho's amber gold eyes. "Good girl, don't look anywhere else, just at my eyes, do you understand?" She received a shaky nod. With magic she hadn't had enough of the night before, Kaho easily sent the girl into a deep sleep, then sat back on her heels a moment to gather her wits and get to work on the girl's arm.

Kaho looked up and over at Fujitaka, "It'll be all right." He didn't look convinced. With a sigh she set to work, ignoring Tomoyo, who was filming behind her, unperturbed at the bloody wound, almost sickly fascinated. "I'd look away, if you have a weak stomach," she told Fujitaka. She eyed him for a moment, waiting to see what he'd do. When he didn't move, she continued on. First she need to physically popped the girl's dislocated shoulder back into place, which meant she had to literally put her hand into gory mess that was Sakura's upper arm.

"How come you don't just use magic to do that?" Tomoyo asked.

"The less magic I use, the better for us both," Kaho said as she gently wrestled the joint back into place. With a pop, it slid back in, a spurt of blood splashing across the woman's face in process. "i_Fuck/i…_" she hissed as her eye narrowed in concentration.

"What's wrong?" Fujitaka asked.

"The main artery in her arm's been severed," Kaho answered. "If I can't find where it's cut, she'll bleed to death."

"I know this might be a dumb question to ask, but how do you know so much about the body?" Tomoyo asked as Kaho studied the splintered bones.

"I had practice, learning first hand as I made my way here," Kaho said, "By using myself as the guinea pig."

Fujitaka didn't like how she'd put that, "But you said you couldn't heal yourself, so how could you have used yourself to learn?"

Kaho was silent for a moment as she located the torn artery and reconnected it, "I had my share of nasty injuries on my way back to Tomoeda, and, like yourself, there are people who's magic include the healing art. Most of the places I managed to find were of old shamans, who's specialty was healing. As they healed me, I learned how they located internal wounds as well as better ways to heal flesh wounds on the surface of the body." She finished with the artery and began knitting bone together.

"Seems like your whole journey back home would make quite a story," Tomoyo said.

"Maybe," Kaho murmured, "If I live through this, I might tell you about it."

Fujitaka watched as the woman quickly finished off the bone and began healing flesh and muscle. Again he began to wonder what she had been through. All that she had seen. The farther down into the caverns they got, the more and more he realized that where they were now was because of a journey that he knew nothing about, and was becoming more and more curious by the minute.

She finished and sat back on her heels, using the sleeve of her shirt to wipe the blood away from her own face. "She'll sleep for a little while. The healing that I gave her won't fall apart, but she'll need to sleep this one off."

Fujitaka nodded and gathered his daughter up in his arms and sat against a rock, holding her close, like she was the most fragile and precious thing on earth to him, which in fact, she was.

Kaho did the same thing only a few feet away, resting her head back on the rock she was leaning against, "You should try and get some sleep too," she told him, her voice sounded like gravel. "Nothing will attack us here now that the obstacle has been overcome."

Fujitaka watched the woman close her eyes as she took her own advice. Tomoyo and Kerberos came and sat near him as well, both studying Sakura for a little while too before they curled up and dozed off.

Fujitaka decided that retreating into sleep would be the best idea. At least then, he wouldn't have to remember what his daughter's arm had just looked like.

OOOO

Kaho woke to the sounds of a few voices, and her eyes fluttered open to see Sakura standing up and rotating the arm that had been previously broken and in danger of losing. The woman stood up stiffly and stretched, familiar aches and pains shooting up her back, then walked over to Sakura to see how well she could move the limb.

"How's it feel?" Kaho asked.

"Fine actually," Sakura said as she extended her arm all the way out in front of her, then as far back as she could get it. "In fact, I don't even remember the whole event, which Dad told me was probably a good thing. Did you make it so I couldn't remember it?"

Kaho shook her head, "No, sometimes the mind realizes that what it's just witnessed may not be the best thing to remember, so it automatically forgets it, or puts up mental barriers that won't allow the memories through."

"Severe car accident victims suffer from the same thing sometimes," Fujitaka said from where he sat on a rock.

"Tomoyo says she got it on video…" Sakura said as she eyed her friend with a mildly nauseated look, "Please don't make me watch it."

"I won't," Tomoyo said. "I'll edit that out. I don't particularly want to see it again either. I just wanted to get it in case you ever do want to remember."

"Was it really that bad?" Sakura looked at her father, who gave her a weak smile.

"Yes…" he answered with a nod. "You could have lost your arm because of it, or even your life."

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. From the way her arm felt, she'd thought it hadn't been so bad. But since she couldn't remember a thing from just after she crushed the crystal, she'd just have to rely on what her father was telling her, or look at the film footage. But not now.

Kerberos, the one forever oversleeping, finally awoke, and promptly plowed Sakura to the ground, gently of course, and started cuddling her, "You're okay!"

Sakura laughed as her guardian smothered her with affection, "Yes Kero, I'm all right."

"But…it was just so bloody and-" Kero started.

"KERO!" Fujitaka, Tomoyo, and Kaho shouted as they covered their ears.

"What?" The guardian looked up, confused, "What'd I say?"

"Everything," Kaho muttered as she turned her head to look for a way out. She spotted a hole higher up in the wall that had appeared after the ceiling collapsed, and was about to go investigate it when someone poked her upper left arm. She looked down and met Sakura's energetic green eyes, "Is something wrong?"

Sakura shook her head and reached up and hugged the woman tightly, "Just wanted to say thanks."

"For what?" Kaho asked, momentarily stunned by the girl's action.

"For saving me," Sakura answered.

Kaho let a small smile appear on her face as she returned the girl's hug, "No thanks needed." She noticed Fujitaka was watching her and felt her cheeks become a dusty pink color. She hoped in the dim light of the cavern that he couldn't see it.

After Sakura let her go the woman turned and phased up to the hole she'd seen in the wall. After a short check down it, she came back and gave them a wave, signaling it was all clear and Sakura and Kerberos flew up to her.

This tunnel was pitch black, as the very first one had been. Knowing the next cavern would be Kaho's task, Sakura released The Glow instead of letting the woman use her magic to light the way. The tunnel filled with a comforting green glow as Kero took the lead, followed by Tomoyo and Sakura, with Fujitaka and Kaho taking up the rear. As they walked, they wondered what they would be in for next.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

_Is it worth it?_

_Is bring your loved ones into a conflict that they are not apart of, simply because they insisted, worth it? Is it worth their safety? Their lives? _

_No…not for them._

_But it's so dark, and I am lonely. I feel like I'm not in control anymore. But…was I ever in control to begin with?_

_No…no I haven't been._

_Is my life worth it? To give it up, to solidify the safety of my loved ones? To take everything I had and throw it away to ensure that they survive? _

_For them?_

_Yes…yes I think so._

_For them, everything is worth it…_

OOOO

They made it to the next cavern with little difficulty, but regretted leaving the comforting light of The Glow and into the dimly lit cave. Inside, they found it covered in vertical rock spires and pillars, seemingly placed in a random order around the glowing crystal, that against was stationed at the ceiling of the cave.

"Why do I not like the look of those?" Fujitaka asked, indicating the towers of rock around them.

"Cause one of us will have to be climbing them in a minute," Kaho answered.

Fujitaka looked up at the crystal, "Couldn't you just phase up there and get it?"

"No…" the woman answered with a shake of her head. "There's a spell on the room that won't let me phase, and it probably won't lift until the crystal is shattered."

"That ups the difficulty level a bit," Kerberos said.

Kaho made a sound of agreement as she took a few steps forward, studying the spires. She looked back when she heard a muffled banging sound behind her and found the rest of her companions stuck behind a barrier similar to the one she'd been stuck behind one room prior.

She walked up and placed her hands against the clear barrier and said something, but there was no response from the people on the other side. It was apparent that this barrier cut off sound from both sides, so not only could they not get to each other, but they couldn't communicate either, which meant warnings wouldn't be able to be shouted.

"Wait…" Fujitaka murmured to himself and tried the mind speech he had learned. _Can you hear me this way?_

…_barely…_came the dim reply.

_Do you know how you're going to get that sphere?_ He wasn't sure how clear he was coming through to her, but he hoped he'd gotten his question across.

_Might…able to shoot…here,_ she came through broken and clipped. _If not….climb up._

Fujitaka frowned and looked up at the tall rock spires that towered before them, and wondered how she was going to manage climbing up the sheer sides. He then noticed an unstrung bow and quiver of arrows that were settled over a nearby rock and pointed them out to her. She walked over to retrieve them and Sakura smiled.

"Well, at least she's wielding a weapon she's familiar with," the young woman said.

"Really?" Fujitaka looked over at the woman for confirmation.

Having caught the gist of what Sakura had said through mild lip reading, Kaho nodded,

…_don't know…I'll…able…draw….bow…right now… but I know…I'm doing…_

_Could you make the shot from here?_ Fujitaka asked, grasping from the last part of her statement that she could shoot, but she didn't know if she'd be able to draw the bow or not.

Kaho turned and studied where the globe, _With my arms in…shape… unlikely…climb up._

Fujitaka paused in his conversation to relay what Kaho had said and Sakura asked, "Couldn't you hit it with an energy beam?"

Fujitaka sent the question over and Kaho turned and shot one at the crystal, not surprised when the magic beam bounced off a shield. _…protected…magic barrier…physical attack…through._

_How close do you think you're going to have to get before you can shoot? _Fujitaka asked.

…_close, _Kaho answered.

Fujitaka studied the rocky pillars that stuck out from the ground and frowned. They were climbable, but they were steep and it wouldn't be easy. Putting his hands on the invisible barrier he told her, _Be careful._

Kaho slung the quiver and bow over her shoulder and gave him a weak grin, _No promises._

_That's reassuring… _Fujitaka mumbled.

Kaho studied the pillars and spires around the sphere and finally chose one that she could easily start climbing on without having to use magic. With the first step onto the spire, she realized that they weren't made of stone at all, but hard packed mud and dirt that, if she stepped wrong, it would crumble right under her feet. And if it crumbled in the wrong place, it would set off a chain reaction, a type of domino effect that would set the whole place crumbling down to the ground.

She feared having to jump from one ledge to another, but at some points she had to. Landing was tricky. With the right amount of magic, she could control her falls to land lightly against the fragile ledges, but it didn't always work and sometimes the brittle edges crumbled anyways. Dropping her down a few feet before she could safely land herself onto another one.

When Kaho finally came to a rather large ledge she stopped and sat down to take a rest. She had had to start actual climbing, with her hands and arms, instead of just stepping and jumping, and now they throbbed and needed a break. The ledge faced away from her companions behind the barrier and she felt Fujitaka prod her with a questioning thought when she didn't reappear after a moment.

_Just taking a break,_ she told him. _Climbing hurts my arms._

_I see,_ came his reply. _Do you think you'll be able to make it to the top?_

Her closed eyes blinked back open in surprise. His thoughts came in strong and clear and she wondered why that was so. _How well can you hear my thoughts? _She asked him.

_Much clearer now actually,_ Fujitaka answered. _Do you think the barrier is weaker the higher up it goes?_

_As a communications barrier, probably, but I doubt you'll be able to physically get through it still,_ Kaho answered.

_Kero's trying now_, there was a pause, then a laugh, _Nope! Bounces right off._

Kaho chuckled,_ Poor Kero._ She sighed and stood carefully. _Well, onward and upward._ She reached up and grabbed onto the ledge above her and pulled herself up, wincing as she felt the slash wounds on her arms pull and split open farther.

Something below her cracked and she looked down, frivolous as it was. She knew she couldn't see the crack that had appeared a few feet below her, a crack that ran through the whole spire and was about to give way.

Fujitaka watched the crack dart around the entirety of the spire and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

_GET OFF THE SPIRE!!_ He screamed.

In the dim light of the cavern he watched a flash of white leap off the crumbling spire. To his amazement, Kaho was able to jump far enough to be able to land on a ledge of a pillar that wasn't too far away. It was farther away from the crystal than he could tell she wanted, but it was going to have to work.

_You okay?_ Fujitaka asked after the dust and debris cleared and he was able to find the woman again.

_This is going to _really_ hurt,_ was her reply before she pulled the bow from her shoulder and an arrow to go with it.

_Are you close enough?_

_Not by a long shot, _she answered as she set the arrow and sighted her target. _Pardon the pun. _She pulled the string back and hissed as she felt skin and muscles tear, but she didn't loosen her grip on the bow until she had her target in perfect aim. When she finally released the string and felt the bowstring snap against the slash on her left arm, she winced, but kept her eyes locked on her target, and only relaxed when she watched the crystal shatter.

Kaho let herself fall to her knees, cringing in pain as she tried to bend her fingers, but found she could barely make her hands do anything.

"Probably tore the rest of the muscles," Kaho murmured to herself as she tried in vain to work her hands.

"You all right?" Came Fujitaka's voice and she looked up to see him riding atop Kerberos.

"Probably just lost the use of my hands…" she replied as she looked up at him.

He looked down at her arms and frowned at the now damp sleeves and bandages, the crimson liquid slowly overcoming the white bandages beneath the black material. It was then he realized that she wasn't going to be able to get on Kero to get off the rocky death trap without help. Carefully, Fujitaka looked for a clear space he could step onto that wouldn't break, then had Kero move closer. He stepped onto the pillar next to her, kneeling so he was eyelevel with her and the weight was evenly distributed, doing as much as he could to not let the pillar beneath them crumble.

Slowly and carefully he placed his hands on her upper arms and helped her to stand. He felt that pillar under their feet shift and he froze.

"Promise me something," Kaho said breathed

"What?" Fujitaka asked.

"Step closer," she told him, and he did, bringing himself up against her, "And don't let go." He felt her hands grasp his arms just above his elbows as the ground beneath his feet gave way. He suddenly felt disoriented for a moment, then solid ground settled under his feet again, but only for a moment. He became disoriented again as the ground fell away, then he found himself falling. "Dammit!" Fujitaka heard Kaho swear again, then he felt something hard smash into the back of his head. His vision went black for a moment, but he felt himself hit the ground and slide through dust and rubble before coming to a stop not too far away.

The sound of crashing stone was the only thing he could hear for a long time, along with the hissing of dust and sand hitting the ground and a barrier by the entrance. Slowly it began to quiet down and he felt he could open his eyes. Upon doing so he found himself facing away from the entrance of the cavern, looking at the far left wall.

Kaho lay there next to him, partially propped up against a mound of rock and dirt. There was blood oozing out from under her head, plus a heavy stone laying on the lower right part of her abdomen.

Though most of his mind was hazy and his head throbbed, something told him to try and get her to respond to him, and, by some miracle, he managed to form some coherent thoughts and threw them at her.

_Kaho…open your eyes…please,_ he managed as he slowly moved his hand over the dirt covered floor towards shoulder, the part of her nearest him. As he touched her, he sent forth as much healing power as he could focus on.

Her eyes fluttered half open the second after his hand touched her shoulder and they shifted over to look at him. Without a word she lifted her right, battered arm and folded it over so she could rest her hand on his arm.

Immediately he felt a flood of healing magic, raw and powerful, scoring through his body and correcting any flaw or damage. He felt his head clear quickly and he was able to turn his head and see all of the other injuries he and Kaho had.

For him, he sported a sharp piece of rock jutting through the far right side of his lower abdomen, it was numb, and just a flesh wound, but it was still eerie to look at. Along with the obvious head injury, another rock had crushed his left foot, which was also numb. He wondered for a moment where all the rocks had come from, knowing for a fact that the pillars and spires themselves had been made from solidified, if brittle, mud and sand. A quick glance up at the ceiling told him everything he needed to know. Just like the room before this, the roof of the cavern had shed a layer of sharp and heavy stones after the crystal had been shattered.

With his right foot he was able to kick the rock off of his other foot, then pulled out the spear point of rock from the his side. It felt odd to watch the skin sew itself up quickly and the bones mending themselves with mildly uncomfortable cracking and grinding noises. He felt a few ribs also pop back into place and an ache on the other side of his abdomen eased.

Feeling mended, the man sat up and took Kaho's hand, blood slicked as it was, in both of his and concentrated on using every single piece of healing knowledge he had. How she'd just been able to open the flood gates on him, the man wasn't sure, but he knew, to be able to heal her effectively, he'd have to concentrate on one injury at a time in order to make sure she survived.

_Are you still here?_ He asked her.

_I'm hanging on,_ her mind-voice was strained, but otherwise strong and firm.

_Can you pinpoint where exactly you're hurt?_ Fujitaka asked. _Most life threatening first and we'll work our way down._

She was silent for a moment, as if taking account of her own injuries. Her breathing was shallow, and it bubbled every so often, signaling fluid in her lungs. After a few of those ragged breaths, she answered him.

_Pierced left lung,_ came her directions. _Heal the rib that's lanced into it before healing the hole and eliminating the fluid. When you're done with that, there's a rock that's smashed the back of my skull._

He quickly fixed her damaged lung and ribs and started on her skull injury. He erased away any rock fragments that were still there and, with her coaching, slowly reconstructed the broken pieces. After a brief check to make sure any swelling had been taken care of, he waited for further directions.

_The right side of my pelvis is crushed,_ she said, pointing out the obvious rock that was still semi on top of her._ Work a shield gently underneath it and arch it off._ He did as he was told, then focused on repairing the broken bone. He got stuck a few times as he was working around the joint where her femur and her pelvis joined, but she slowly walked him through it, then showed him how to repair the ball and socket joint that was needed to pop her dislocated leg back into place.

One of the vertebra in her lower back was cracked, so she showed him how to fuse it together, then healed the bruising that had occurred throughout the rest of her body.

Finally he went and looked at her arms, without her direction, and tried to heal some of the damage there. He was able to reattach tendons and reform the muscles that she had torn in both hands while shooting the bow, enabling her to open and close her hands again without much difficulty. The slash wounds didn't even respond to the strong healing touch, so he left them as they were, bleeding, but it was sluggish and not something he was too worried about at the moment.

When he finally finished he opened his eyes, unaware that he'd actually closed them, and watched as the woman sat up and rubbed the side of her head.

She gave a mental groan_, Sorry, one more, left eye's gone blind. No wonder I was able to look at you so easily without getting my view skewed!_

He chuckled and rested his hand against the side of her face and quickly healed her eye, noting how she blushed enough for him to see._ What injuries did I have?_

_Cracked skull, like mine, four broken ribs, torn spleen, fractured left femur, crushed left foot, speared in the side with that rock you so nicely threw away, and a myriad of bruising of which I lost count of at thirteen. _She answered.

"Are you all right?" Sakura asked.

Fujitaka looked behind him at his daughter, "How long have you been standing there?"

"Since the rocks stopped falling," Tomoyo answered. "We saw you covered in debris, but Kero said not to touch either of you. You've been like this for over half and hour."

"They were in a Healing Trance, both working more healing magic than either of them had, literally working off of each other, to be able to heal all of their injuries." Kerberos said, "If you were to have touched them, the trance would have been broken and everything they'd healed would have reversed, putting them in more danger. The magic they used would have stayed gone, but the injuries would have remained, and death would have been their only option."

"I didn't even hear you come up," Fujitaka said.

"You wouldn't have," Kero said. "You were in a trance. Even after you sat up and continued healing Kaho, you were still in that trance. It ended just after you took your hand away from her face."

"Oh," Fujitaka blinked at the information he was given. Then a thought occurred to him, "Wait, you have more healing magic than I do," he looked back over at Kaho. "How were we equal in amount and ability?"

"We worked off each other," Kaho told him, "As Kero said, creating an equal amount of power between us to be able to heal each others injuries. Basically, we broke the rules about me not being able to heal myself, because you were using part of my magic to be able to balance out the amounts."

"Oh," he knew he was saying that a lot now. "One more question." He received inquiring looks from the people around him. "Are we going to need to sleep this off?"

"You will indeed," Kero said. "In fact, we'd best get you two settled before you pass out."

"Why do I suddenly feel like I'm four?" Kaho asked.

"Cause you're being told you're going to sleep whether you like it or not," Tomoyo said as she zoomed her camera in on the woman's scowling face.

"I have an odd feeling that I'm going to wake up in a very awkward position," Fujitaka said as his eyelids began to feel incredibly heavy.

"I can't answer that one," Tomoyo said with a smile as his world suddenly went dark.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Both girls and guardian giggled as they focused the camera in on the two sleeping adults nestled against Kerberos.

"I'm apologizing now in this video so you two know, when you watch this, that I wasn't being completely selfish," Tomoyo said as she filmed the two sleeping adults spooned into each other as they slept nestled against Kerberos's belly and flank.

It was true, after they had gotten Fujitaka settled against Kero, Kaho and passed out not too long after while sitting against the fuzzy guardian, to ensure neither would hurt themselves on several of the sharp rocks that laid about the area. Unconsciously the two adults had spooned into each other, Kaho with her back pressed gently against Fujitaka's chest, while the man's arms were wrapped firmly around the woman's waist.

"They're going to kill us for not separating them," Sakura said as she and her friend found comfortable places to sit and wait for the adults to wake.

"It'll be worth it," Tomoyo said as she continued filming them. "They're adorable together. It's too bad they won't admit their feelings to each other…"

"They're just stubborn," Kero said. "Wait a while, they might yet break their bad habits."

Both girls chuckled as Tomoyo turned off her camera, "I'd love to get their first kiss."

"You already got their first kiss," Sakura said. "At the Christmas party."

"I want to film their first consensual first kiss," Tomoyo said. "The one that is sure to happen after they admit their feelings to each other!"

Sakura chuckled at her friend's enthusiasm and sighed, "If only they'd admit it." She murmured wistfully.

OOOO

She was warm when she woke up. Her head cushion against something soft and fuzzy, while something warm and comforting was wrapped around her waist and spooned against her back. She didn't remember falling asleep in this position, nor did she remember rocks being so warm and comfy.

_Wait…rocks AREN'T warm and comfy… _her eyes shot open and she quickly studied her surroundings from where she lay, unmoving. First and foremost, was the fuzzy golden fur that obscured her vision. After a moments contemplation she realized she was laying against Kero's hind leg, which explained the warm fuzzy pillow…but not the nice comfy blanket…

She directed her gaze behind her and immediately felt her face heat up. Fujitaka was cuddled up against her back, arms wrapped possessively around her waist. Part of her relished the contact, but that voice in the back of her mind kept screaming at her that it wasn't right, that she shouldn't like it, shouldn't care. Shouldn't…love…

She closed her eyes for a moment longer, then opened them again, _Fujitaka?_

_Hm…?_ Came the groggy reply

_You might want to wake up…_Kaho said flatly.

…_why? S'warm and comfy and…wait… _his eyes opened and he found himself with the woman in his arms. _Oh…. _He gently untangled himself from the woman and sat up with a yawn, "Sorry about that."

"It's okay…" Kaho said as she rubbed her eyes and looked down at the sodden bandages around her arms. She stripped them off with a disgusted look on her face and tried to untie the sash around her waist, but blood made her fingers slippery and she couldn't grasp the knot tight enough to undo it.

"I'll do it," Fujitaka said as he crawled over and untied the sash with nimble fingers. The woman waited patiently as he unwound the sash, tore it in half, then started wrapping up her arms without even being asked to do so.

"The material's thick, but I'm not sure how long it's going to last," Fujitaka said as he worked.

"Just wrap them tightly and it'll do the job…" Kaho murmured, her gaze caught on his eyes. She always had a problem with his eyes. If she were to ever look at them, no matter how much of a glance it was, she was frozen in place, lost in his placid, warm, brown gaze that, every so often, would gaze back at her.

Fujitaka finished wrapping her arms quickly, the many days of practice finally beginning to show it. For some reason, he ran his hand gently over the finished wrap job in the inside of her arm as he looked up at her.

And there it happened again, her gaze caught with his, and for the life of her, she couldn't pull away. "Thank…you…" she murmured as again, the distance between them began to fade.

"Ha…Hahah! Clow….make the butterfly lady turn Yue's hair pink again!" Babbled the sleeping guardian. "It was so funny! …W-wait…no no! Not me! No! Clow make her stop!!" Kero wailed and squirmed in his dream.

Kaho and Fujitaka stared at the sleeping guardian, wonder what in the world he could have been dreaming about.

"Remind me to dye his fur pink one of these days," Fujitaka said.

"Will do…" Kaho smirked, then yawned.

"Still tired?" Fujitaka asked.

Kaho nodded, "A bit."

"So am I," Fujitaka said as he stood and wandered over to a nearby boulder and sat down against it. "May as well doze while the others are still asleep."

Kaho nodded in agreement, internally upset that he'd gotten up to sleep somewhere else. He'd left the nice, comfortable pillow that was Kerberos and opted to sleep against and uncomfortable rock.

_Guess I know where I stand… _Kaho murmured as she settled back down to doze.

OOOO

"Aw…they moved," came Sakura's disappointed voice.

"Yes, it's really easy to do too, all you have to do is get up," Kaho mumbled smartly with her eyes still closed.

"I agree," came Fujitaka's input.

"Oh well, at least I got it on camera," Tomoyo said and both adults opened their yes quickly and stared at the young woman.

"That got their attention…" Sakura said as she hid behind her friend.

"If you want it to survive this adventure Tomoyo, you'd best keep that camera close to you, or I'm going to blow it up," Kaho said as she stood up and she heard a few chuckles at her remark.

"So where's the way out of here?" Fujitaka asked as they looked around.

"Over there," Kero nodded his head in the direction. It was another hole in the upper wall of the cavern. And, like the last one, Sakura had to release The Glow so they could see their way as they walked.

_Do you think the next room will have Eriol in it? _Fujitaka asked.

_I can't figure out what else it would be,_ Kaho answered. _Those of us with magic have already passed their tests, what else is there?_

_I don't know, but it's daunting to realize that in the next room would be the person that has been reeking so much havoc on people for so long,_ Fujitaka said. _I'll admit, I'm getting nervous at what we'll find._

Kaho silently sent out her senses and did indeed pick up the demon's power signature in the next room. She also felt Spinel close by, sitting in wait for something. There was nothing threatening in his thought pattern, so he was either waiting to greet them and wish them luck, or waiting to retrieve Eriol once he'd been set free.

With a sigh, the woman closed her eyes and phased to the front of the group and turned around to face them, blocking their path. "This is where we part ways."

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked.

"This is where you turn back, and I go on ahead," Kaho answered flatly.

"Why?" Fujitaka asked, his eyes dangerous. "We've made it this far together, why are you stopping it now."

"Because you don't belong here," Kaho answered. "Not in this darkness, not in this danger. You need to leave, go back home, be safe, and forget any of this ever happened." She blinked away unexpected tears, "I can't begin to thank you for everything you've done for me, and I'll forever be grateful. But from this point on, I have to do this alone."

Fujitaka stared at her, "You'd planned this from the beginning, hadn't you? You never intended for us to help you?"

She smiled sadly at him, "That's right….I'm not going to put your lives at risk anymore than they have been. It's not worth it." She bit her bottom lip to stop it from trembling, "Now leave, before you force me to _make_ you leave." She stared them down, waiting for them to leave. All of them had fixed her with defiant glares, and they hurt worse than any of the injuries she had been inflicted with so far. The woman had known they would hate her for what she was doing, but she wasn't going to allow them to risk their lives in something with such a dangerous outcome. She wouldn't let them die trying to help her, too many had.

When they didn't move after a time, she raised a hand to them and began to form an energy ball in it, "Please don't make me force you…" She stared pleadingly into Fujitaka's eyes, hoping beyond reasoning that he'd understand and turn away. "Please go."

Fujitaka sighed and broke the staring contest, "Let's go."

"We're leaving?" Sakura asked as she turned to her father in disbelief.

"Yes, let's go," he said as he walk away, back in the opposite direction. The other three hesitated, but finally turned and followed the man, away from the woman, who finally dropped her hand and watched them go, The Glow receding as they went until she was alone… in utter darkness.

When she was sure they were out of earshot, she whispered, "I love you…all of you." Then turned on her heels and continued down the tunnel, rocks crunching under her feet as she went.

Kaho walked blindly for a while, the darkness as all consuming as her emotions were. Tears were streaming steadily down her cheeks as she walked alone, not regretting what she had done, but feeling no better about the fact that they were gone. She became dimly aware of a faint light beginning to appear around the twists and turns of the tunnel, but paid it no mind. She just focused on putting one foot in front of the other, getting herself one step closer to her goal.

"Where have your companions gone?" Spinel's voice brought her out of her thoughts and she looked to her left to see the black and white guardian walk out of the shadows, white stripes undulating in the darkness. His blue eyes flashed at her in the dim light.

"I sent them back," Kaho answered. "Sent them home."

"Was that wise?" Spinel asked as he came up beside her and they both continued walking together, phantom companions reunited.

"Was it wise for them to come with me?" Kaho asked the guardian, countering his question. "Was it wise to allow them to get themselves in this danger when they had no business being in it in the first place? Was it wise for me to have even told them?"

"You needed them," Spinel said, "To keep you alive, to keep you sane. So everything that's happened didn't destroy the woman we all know and love. And you _love _them."

Kaho gave a laughing cough, "Is it really that obvious?"

"As obvious as the tears on your face dearest," Spinel answered.

Kaho wiped the tears away with the palm of her hand, calmed slightly by the familiar pet name, "I want them to live Spinel. And to have as little of this darkness in their minds as possible. They weren't ready for this anyway."

"Do you know that for sure?" The panther guardian asked. "Some times our biggest growths come at the most dangerous and trying moments. You're living proof"

"I'm not willing to risk it," the woman told him as they came upon the end of the tunnel and the opening into the next, and final cavern.

"And this is where I must leave you," Spinel said as he looked up at her. Kaho looked down at him, then knelt down and hugged the powerful guardian's head.

"Would it be wrong for me to say that I'm scared?" Kaho asked.

"No, dearest" Spinel purred into her chest. "There is no shame in admitting something so natural, and at this point, so justified. Good luck Kaho, and I thank you for doing this."

She released him and stood and faced the entrance, "Spinel, if you see the others, and…" she paused and shook her head, swallowing back another wave of tears, "If you see them, tell them I love them, and that I'm sorry."

Spinel frowned, but nodded, "Of course."

Without another word, Kaho stepped into the light of the cavern.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Kaho stopped after a few steps into the cave and looked around. It was completely empty, except for one person standing alone in the very center, blank eyes staring back at her, a sinister smile plastered across his face.

"Welcome Kaho," the demon in Eriol said. "I'm actually surprised you made it here in such good shape. Tell me, did you enjoy those little obstacles that Eriol begged me to put up? He was so very insistent, saying that if you couldn't pass them, then that meant you'd leave and wait for another day. I humored him, if only to watch him squirm as he watched you go through them. But I myself am so very glad that you were able to get all the way to me and bless me with your presence."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," Kaho said with a smirk of false bravado and crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't want to make it obvious that she wanted to turn tail and haul ass out of there.

"And where are your companions? I was truly looking forward to seeing them all again," he asked. "Eriol was too, and now he's worried that they aren't here because of something he did."

Kaho's eyes softened, "They're all right Eriol, I sent them back so they wouldn't be hurt anymore." Her eyes hardened as she focused on the demon again, "And so they won't have to witness me tearing you limb from limb when I finally rip you from his body."

"How unladylike!" The demon laughed, "Eriol says you've acquired quite a mouth since you started fighting me. He says he's never known you to say such things."

"It's been a long time," Kaho narrowed her eyes. "Things have changed."

"So they have," he nodded. "And things are about to change further."

"Oh? How so?" Kaho asked smartly.

"I will be changing your body, from being able to breathe, to not being able to breathe. Permanently!" And with that, he rushed at her, extending Eriol's fingernails into long, sharp claws.

Kaho slipped away just in time to see his nails embed themselves into the rock wall behind her. His left came across to slash at her, but she phased away and behind him, backing away from his attacks.

The demon wrenched his stuck hand from the wall and turned and licked one nail, "You've gotten good at that. There was a time when you could only do that once, then pass out."

"I've had a lot of practice," Kaho smirked as she leapt away from his next slash, not mentioning that being fueled by fear and adrenaline made phasing almost instinctual at this point.

"Indeed," he stopped and tried a new tactic, shooting multiple red beams at her.

Again, Kaho phased away, but was stunned when he literally reached out and pulled her out of the phasing process by her arm and threw her against the wall.

"Sorry, but this monster learns," he smiled sadistically as he crushed her against the wall. "Now, why don't you make my job easier, and hold still!" He released her, but before she had a chance to move again, white, rock hard vines erupted from the side of the cavern behind her and bound her to the wall.

Like the room before this one, the vines were spelled against phasing, and Kaho was locked in its dead white grip. She struggled fruitlessly against them, trying to slip her blood slick arms through the vines, but it wasn't going to work.

The demon laughed maniacally, "Finally, and once I'm done with you, I get to go after that new little family of yours." He strolled up to her and leaned down and whispered in her ear. "Do you want to know what I'm going to do to them? Take that little green eyed girl. Such energy and spirit she has, and great power. I will enjoy stringing her up high on a wall and slowly ripping off her limbs." To add to her torment, the demon projected images of the future encounters into her head.

Tears welled up in the woman's eyes as she saw Sakura nailed to a wall with large, thick spears embedded into several parts of her anatomy, missing one arm and one leg. The other two looked ready to follow shortly after. But what hit the woman most of all, was that she was still alive, and screaming.

"And that pretty golden guardian of hers, I shall enjoy skinning it alive," he chuckled and projected that image into her head as well. What she saw wasn't a normal skinning, Kero's fur had been removed so only his skin was showing, and now he was literally having his skin flayed off, one small strip at a time. She noticed he was strung up in an odd position, but she didn't focus in enough to see what it was…she didn't want to.

"And that other girl, Tomoyo," The demon said. "Pretty little thing she is, such intriguing eyes. First I think I'll scalp her, then pull out her eyes…" he continued on as he shoved the images into her mind. This time she cried out at the horrors he showed her. Tomoyo's limp form was thrown nonchalantly against a wall, the skin and muscles of her face we completely gone, revealing just the white bone of her skull underneath. She'd been scalped, then had had her hair plopped back on carelessly. It laid there crooked and dull, and her eyes had been given the same treatment, pulled out then carelessly balanced back in, both facing at odd angles.

"And finally, the man that you seem to care so deeply for," he said. "What oh what should I do to him?" He paced around in front over her, rubbing Eriol's chin in contemplation. "Ah, I know, first I'll impale him, like how that insane Transylvanian man Vlad Tepes liked to do. Then remove the flesh from his chest and carve out his ribs one at a time. Of course I'll have him staked out outside for all to see. Won't it be just so entertaining?!"

Kaho shook her head, tears streaming down her face, "No!"

"Oh but it will be!" The demon danced around her, laughing at her pain and despair. "And I shall carry your soul with me so you can watch as I destroy each one of them!" He stepped back a few paces, "But to do that, first I must kill you, and you've danced around that fate long enough." He pulled his hands back and red energy began to form, ready for attack.

Kaho continued in her useless struggle, the images the demon had planted in her mind tearing her apart, mentally and physically. Something, farther back, was trying to emerge, but she wouldn't let it go, wouldn't release it.

The sound of unleashed energy beams brought her attention back to the present and she looked in front of her to watch blinding red blasts heading straight for her.

"SHIELD!"

The energy beams bounced off the shield and angled up and away, hitting the ceiling at various points. Then her vision was covered in sapphire, a sapphire light that she knew well enough. Those sapphire lights smashed into Eriol's body and knocked him back a few paces, a scowl spreading across his features at the disruption.

The Shield fell away and Kaho looked to her left to see Sakura, Kerberos, and Fujitaka standing near the entrance of the cavern, the two humans still in their attack and defense stances.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Kaho shouted.

"Saving your life," Fujitaka answered smartly.

Kaho glared at him, "Why did you come back? I told you to go home."

Fujitaka started towards her, a grim look on his face, "It seems that our telepathic link can do more than just transfer our conscious thoughts to each other."

Her eyes widened, "What did you see?" She hoped he hadn't seen everything. To have seen it all would have driven an average human mad with terror and disgust.

"Not much, most of it was faded and it flashed by like a movie on fast-forward, but I saw enough of what would happen if the demon was successful in killing you," Fujitaka answered as he reached out and took hold of one of the dead white vines. The vines shot out an electric shock at his sudden touch, which threw the man back near the entrance, plowing into his daughter and Kero and knocking all three of them to the ground.

There was a loud cracking noise and Kaho looked up at the ceiling and found several large rocks were cracking and beginning to fall away, right above where Fujitaka and the others hand fallen.

"Get up!" She shouted at them. "Move!" But Fujitaka was still too stunned from the shocks and Sakura and Kero were tangled together, wings and staff now allowing either of them to break free from the other.

Kaho paused for a moment, the situation looking oddly familiar, yet she knew she hadn't seen the exact image before. No…she hadn't, but she had seen the outcome. The outcome that Fujitaka had witnessed in his vision the day she'd helped him touch his magic for the first time.

"No…" her eyes locked onto the images of both him and his daughter crushed under piles of giant rocks, rocks that were from the same ceiling that was about to give some of itself away. "No," she clamped her eyes shut, denial of their imminent death screaming in her head. She could hear him laughing, the thing that had been the bane of her existence for far too long. The joy he found in their deaths finally broke the final barrier she'd set up in her mind, the flood gates opening and allowing her to use the most dangerous tool a magic user had available to them. It was the same thing she'd warned Fujitaka about only a week before.

She watched the rocks break away, gravity finally winning the argument.

"NO!!" She screamed as the rocks began to fall, magic she had reined back for so long exploding and sending her rational mind into turmoil.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Fujitaka was finally able to open his eyes as the rocks began to fall, but the rest of his body still wasn't responding to his wishes. He could feel Kero and Sakura stuck underneath him, but he was limp and couldn't move to allow them to stand and get away.

The vision he'd had only a few days before flashed through his mind, as it had to Kaho, and he felt panic course through him, but had nowhere to go. The world around him began to slow down and he felt himself exhale as the boulder covered his vision.

Then it turned to dust.

Later he would realize that he had felt a concussion blast through the cave, the resonating power that had just been blown through the whole area, but now he only saw that the rocks were gone, and that, for the moment, he was going to live.

"Dad, get up!" His daughter's voice snapped him out of his daze.

"Ah!" The man exclaimed as he struggled to untangle himself from Kero's wings, then rolled over and scrambled to his feet. "What happened?"

Sakura rolled free of her guardian and sat up on her elbows, staring at something, "That," she started, "might be a good place to start looking."

He followed his daughter's gaze and found it settled back on Kaho, but what he saw made him take a few steps back.

There had only been one time that he'd seen the woman truly angry, and that had been two caves back, when Sakura had been doing her task and they were stuck behind the barrier, only able to watch. For a moment he'd watched a spark of rage tint her vision and draw a look of loathing over her face.

Now that look was back again, but at a level he'd never fathomed could exist. The woman's warm amber gold eyes now glowed a dangerous bronze color, pupils having closed to almost nothing. White magic rippled in the air around her, fanning the air like the heat did on a blazing summers day.

She'd been looking at them, or more specifically, the now disintegrated boulders that were creating dust at their feet. It was extremely unnerving to have her angered gaze situated at them, enough to where it made Sakura scramble to her feet and inch towards her father.

"Kero…what's wrong with her?" She asked as she held her staff close to her, trying to glean comfort from the smooth, familiar object.

"She's let her anger take control," Kerberos answered as he sat back on his haunches.

"So this is what rage looks like," Fujitaka stared, remembering the conversation he had had with the woman in the car not so very long ago.

"Indeed," the guardian nodded, "but it's a very dangerous thing to do."

"How so?" The man asked. Kaho had told him the basics of what ones anger could do, but she hadn't gone into any detail. Mostly, she'd just told him to avoid the act at all costs.

"When a magician releases his…or her…anger, it's usually done in desperation," Kero began to explain. "It's usually their last resort, like if they're dying, or someone they truly care about is about to die." A satisfied smirk touched his face for a second, then it turned grim again. "Once the anger is released though, a magic user goes into something called Rage. Their conscious mind is clouded and they begin to put everything they have into their attacks and their defenses, not realizing how much, or how little, magic they have left. If they don't come back to some sort of control shortly after, they usually end up killing themselves after they've burned themselves dry, or their Rage finally calms and dissipates. For the most part though, the end result is death."

Now Fujitaka understood why Kaho had been persistent in her warnings about his anger. With his little experience, his control would be even less, and, if he were ever to fall into a Rage situation, he now realized that'd he'd probably never be able to get himself out of it until it was too late.

With a nervous swallow, trying to get moisture back into his suddenly dry throat, Fujitaka looked back over at the glowing woman.

OOOO

Magic licked and ripped at the white vines that bound her to the wall.

_**Soon**__…_a venomous voice in the back of her mind said. _**Soon we will be free to seek bloodshed!!**_

_NO!_ Her rational mind fought back. _You can't hurt him, _we_ can't hurt him!_

_**Why not? He's hurt us for so long**__,_ it said.

It had a point, _He has…_

_**Yessss, he has hurt us, and hurt many people dear to us!**_

_Yes, he has…_she was confused. Did she really want to hurt him? She'd held back for so long…

_**Give us bloodshed!!**_ Rage demanded. _**Take our revenge!! It is ours, ripe for harvesting, ours to feast upon!!**_

_Ours…_

The vines shredded and fell to the ground and Kaho felt an inhuman growl rumble in her chest and throat as she peered through her bangs towards Eriol.

_**Kill him!!**_

_Kill? _She wondered, was that right? Was it the right thing to do?

Kaho phased behind Eriol and lashed out, trying to catch him with her nails.

"Well now, it seems you've finally decided to fight me," the demon cackled as he turned and slid away from her attack. "Finally tired of running?"

She growled again, then lunged, magic hardened nails slicing at the air close to his face.

"HAH! You've finally gone and done it I see!" He laughed. "Finally you have shown me that devastating power you possess, your beautiful Rage! Come now, let me see it work!"

His joy at her state rocked some sense back into her foggy mind.

"What…?" She hesitated a bit and felt her anger singing through every vein in her body. There was no way of stopping it now, not yet. It still demanded bloodshed, lusting for the sight of Eriol's blood on her hands.

_Maybe if I just…scratch him… _she wondered. _Would it work?_

Rage didn't ask questions. When she finally conceded to attack, it took the initiative and struck out with everything she had. It took every ounce of willpower she possessed just to remind herself that she only wanted a scratch.

Just a scratch…

Rage pumped through her like adrenaline, fueling her when she swore she would have collapsed. She moved so fast that her own vision couldn't keep up with her, and she wondered how the demon still managed to stay out of her grasp.

Crouching, she made to leap at him, but instead, converted it into a feint, then lashed out with her feet, knocking the demon to the floor. The woman leapt for him, Rage reaching out for his throat instead of merely trying to scratch him.

"My my, you truly are losing your grip aren't you?" He asked as he sent a bolt of energy straight into her midsection.

Kaho was thrown backwards and landed on the ground some yards away, rolling until she was facing away from him before she was able to stop.

The demon's footsteps sounded in her ears as she laid there, slowly and silently removing one of the bandages from her arm. It was soaked, and a heavier fabric than that of normal bandaging, and would suit her surprise just to her liking.

"Just going to lay there?" He asked as he got closer to her.

Lightning fast, Kaho spun around from where she lay and whipped the folded bandaging out, smacking him loudly on the right side of his face. She gave a satisfied smirk as she watched him pitch to the side, then, before he got his bearings back, she struck again, right hand lashing out and digging one of her nails into his right cheek and ripping sideways. It left a long scratch from the side of his nose, all the way the way down to the back of his jaw.

Both leapt away from each other, the demon to collect its wits, while Kaho peered at the blood that coated her fingernails.

"You fight dirty," the right side of his face was red and swollen, with blood dripping from the deep scratch, giving him what looked like a comical appearance, if it weren't for the deadly glow to his eyes.

Kaho glared over at him as her mind battled with Rage. It wanted to lick the blood from her fingers, while her rational mind wanted to wipe it away and try and forget it ever happened.

Rage won.

"Only as dirty as the thing I'm fighting," she murmured has her tongue snaked out and licked the blood from her fingertips.

Now Rage was satisfied, for the moment, and Kaho bound the emotion up and stored it away again, behind her mental, but brittle barriers. She felt tired and her vision cleared for a moment, only to blur again as her eyes stung with uninvited tears. Her stomach insisted on ridding itself of its contents, and she had to swallow several times before she had that part of herself under control again. The taste of Eriol's blood still lingered in her mouth, making it all that much harder to tell her roiling stomach to behave itself.

He lashed out at her and Kaho stumbled away. She was dangerously low on magic now, all of it having been used to enhance her speed while she'd fought hand to hand with him. It was far from her strong point, and forcing her body to do so had run it ragged.

"You've slowed Kaho," he laughed, "This troubles Eriol greatly. Normally you're quicker than he is."

Kaho smirked as she panted lightly, ideas forming in her head, "Guess I'm not taking good care of myself, maybe I need a break."

"I can give you that break," he chuckled, "all you have to do is hold still and I'll end all of your pain right here." They began to circle each other, like two wolves sizing each other up. "Look at you, running around with barely enough blood in your body to keep a normal person alive while lying in bed. Yet you're dashing about here like you're in top health. You may just do my job for me."

"Maybe," Kaho said.

He then did something that terrified her, freezing her in place. He phased away and reappeared above her, aiming dagger sized energy bolts at her from ten feet up.

"You like my new trick?" He asked with a demented laugh. "I learned it from a very special someone!"

"_Fuck…"_ Kaho murmured as she screamed at her feet to move. They wouldn't budge and she turned her head up and put everything she had into a shield, waiting for the fiery daggers to crash through and embed themselves into her body.

She felt impact, then a flash blinded her for a moment, causing her to shield her eyes with her arm until it faded.

The first thing that hit her vision was Eriol's body, about two feet away, laying on the floor, covered in dagger wounds. His eyes were vacant. Not possessed and out of control vacant, but dead vacant, life having left his body.

"Eriol?" Kaho croaked as she took a few steps forward and collapsed to her knees beside him. "Eriol?" She touched his undamaged cheek and pulled away quickly, fingers having brushed against ice cold flesh. Instead of her shield just taking the damage of the daggers, it had ricocheted them back at Eriol, stabbing him to death.

Footsteps echoed through the cavern and she looked up as Fujitaka, Sakura, Tomoyo, and Kero.

"Is he?" Fujitaka asked.

Kaho swallowed and clamped her eyes shut, tears threatening to fall, "He's…dead…"

"It's…over?" The man asked.

"Yes…but, I didn't want this!" Kaho looked up at him, her eyes pleading for him to understand. "I didn't want to kill him!"

"Shhh, it's all right," Fujitaka said as he knelt down next to her. "We know you didn't. Things like this just happen sometimes."

"But, I wasn't even trying…" Kaho stammered. "I don't understand…."

"It's okay," he murmured, placing a hand comfortingly on her arm. "No one's asking you to understand." He slipped his hand underneath her arm and began to lift her to her feet. "Come on, we should start getting out of here."

"I don't want to leave him here," Kaho said as she tried to reach for the lifeless young man.

"We have no room for him if we need to fly out," Fujitaka said as he started to steer her towards the opening in the cavern wall.

This was true, she realized, as they headed for the exit. But she still felt uneasy, like something wasn't right about the whole situation.

She surveyed the rest of her companions. Kero walked along with his head bowed towards the front, with Sakura right behind him. Tomoyo followed beside her, her hand laced with her friend's, her camera hanging loosely from her other hand.

Tomoyo wasn't filming…

"I don't like this…" Kaho murmured to herself.

"Don't like what? Eriol dying?" Fujitaka asked. "I'd suppose not, since you weren't planning on it."

Kaho looked around again. The other three stared back at them. Kero looked at her blankly, Sakura and Tomoyo doing the same.

Sakura wasn't crying…

"Come on, what are you waiting for?" Fujitaka asked curiously.

"Something's…not right…" Kaho said as she halted in her journey towards the exit.

"What do you mean?" Fujitaka asked as he closed the distance between them and wrapped her in his arms. "The demon's dead, we're all alive, it's time to go home."

Fujitaka didn't care…

"Come on love, lets go home," Fujitaka smiled.

The floodgate broke again and Kaho shoved him away.

"What's wrong Kaho?" Fujitaka asked.

"You're not real!" She screamed at him. "None of this is real!"

"What are you talking about?" Fujitaka asked.

Kaho didn't hear him. With Rage flooding her body again, her vision became blurry, but not blurry in a sense that she could not see. In fact, she saw more than when she wasn't in Rage. The images of Fujitaka, Sakura, Kero, and Tomoyo vanished, leaving behind merely vaporous shadows with voices that echoed of the real thing.

It was all an illusion. A well placed, but poorly study, illusion. Now all she had to do was break it.

Knowing no other way, she flooded the area around her with destructive magic, flaring out white hot rage until she was enclosed in nothing but bleached insanity.

The dome shattered and Kaho bolted back towards the demon who had started to stray towards her companions, chasing him back to the center of the cavern.

"Impressive, I didn't think you'd be able to break through that illusion," Eriol smirked. "I had set up what your heart desired most and yet you pushed it away."

"A demon like you could wouldn't understand what my heart truly desires," Kaho hissed as she tore off the remaining bandages and allowed blood to pool into both her hands.

"It seems to be desiring death the way you keep coming back," the demon's voice rose in volume, "And now I shall finally give it to you!" He shot an energy beam the thickness of both of his arms at her, but was surprised to find the space she'd been in completely empty when the shot had faded. Looking up, he found Kaho had anticipated his attack and had leapt up and above him.

Her arms were out in attack position, and she fire off a medium sized energy ball as her momentum carried her over the possessed young man. It swirled white and red, blood having mixed in and fanned around her magic.

He easily dodged it and laughed as blood splashed and stained the floor, "So you've finally decided to shoot at me have you?"

"Looks like it, doesn't it?" Kaho asked as she landed and shot again, and missed, making another stain on the floor. The demon cackled and danced from one stain to the other, as though flaunting the fact that she'd missed. Kaho fired another swirling ball at him, and this time it landed beyond the young man, landing exactly center, though farther away from the first two shots.

The demon made to rush her, but Kaho shot again, cause him to fall to the side to evade the attack. She tried once more, but again, found herself with another stain on the floor.

He cackled, "Five times woman and yet you still miss! Your aim seems to be as off as your sense!"

"Whoever said I was aiming for you?" Kaho asked with a pant. With a flick of her hand, the glowing points on the floor connected into a pentacle, with Eriol in the center.

"Sneaky bitch," he hissed.

Kaho merely offered a sympathetic smile before beginning the spell.

"_Immortal darkness that has settled into mortal light_

_Let go your grasp upon this weary life"_

"A release spell…" the demon spat as he tried to move, but he was frozen in place

"_Offered in blood for a price to pay_

_Unbind yourself and stand alone this day"_

"I'll never let him go!" The demon shouted as it tried to resist the pull of the spell

"_Through my life I am willing to concede,_

_And in this sacrifice, bindings release!"_

No matter how much resistance the demon put up, it wouldn't have saved it. The spell tore it harmlessly from Eriol's body as the pentacle erupted into a concealing column of white light and carried it towards Kaho.

The demon hit her body, and she knew it would have been the understatement of the year if she ever said it had just hurt. No, to say it hurt was too easy, too gentle. It felt like every inch of flesh in her body had just been shredded. But she stood there and took it, and watched out of blurry eyes as Eriol lurched forward, as if to fall, but was caught by a white and black creature. Kaho dimly recognized Spinel as he turned his head and looked at her, nodding his thanks at the final release of his former master. Then, making sure Eriol was securely on his back, he flew off as the concealing magic dissipated, the markings on the floor vanished, and Kaho fell to her knees, but a light breeze still swirled around her, almost in a relaxed fashion.

She knelt there panting, somewhere her ears picked up the sound of footfalls as the others in the cavern made their way over. For the moment, the pain was gone and she felt eerily calm, if a little overly exerted and breathless. A touch on both of her shoulders brought her gaze up to Fujitaka's eyes, and the look she gave him told him everything he didn't want to know.

"You're dying," Fujitaka realized as he knelt in front of her.

She looked up at him with a tired expression, an eerie glow in her eyes, "Yes…"

"Why?" He asked, the hands he had resting on her shoulders tightened their grip.

"You understood the spell," Kaho gave him a weak smile with pride, "You're magic grew even in the midst of all of this fighting, and that's why you could understand it. Do you remember the last two lines? They're safe to say, since it would be out of order."

"Through my life I am willing to concede, and in the sacrifice…" he didn't have to finish to finally understand. "Why?" His voice rasped.

"The spell I used was the augmented version that Spinel gave me," Kaho said. "Had I used the original, I would have died in the middle of it, not having enough magic to see it through, and the demon still would have been alive." She looked into his eyes, "I couldn't let that happen. The augmented version uses my life energy along with whatever remaining magic I had. Had I used only my magic, well, you know that already…. The only way to destroy the demon, was to lock it inside my own body, then let the spell finish me off."

"So you were willing to throw your life away instead?" Fujitaka asked, his grip on her shoulders becoming even tighter as the seconds ticked by.

"Knowing you and the rest were safe, I didn't really care about myself," Kaho said. "Now you need to leave, the cavern will collapse once this part of the spell finishes!"

"I'm not leaving you here," Fujitaka growled stubbornly.

"There's nothing you can do!" Kaho said as the breeze around her began to pick up speed, signaling that the climax of the spell was only seconds away.

"I'm not going to let you die here!" Fujitaka said as he pulled her too him, hugging her so tightly it was as if he were trying to keep her alive by his embrace alone. "You can't die," his fingers splayed across her back, then dug into the material of her tunic, almost trying to become apart of her, "…I love you…"


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"…I love you…"

Kaho's eyes snapped open at his words. At the same time, there was a different snapping, this time coming from the release of a Sakura Card. Dimly, between the life draining haze of the spell, and the drugging affect of being in Fujitaka's arms, she wondered what the girl was trying to do.

Copper sparks filled her peripheral vision, and for a moment she couldn't understand what they were. She knew of no Card that could produce copper sparks, let alone counter a life taking spell.

There was an odd pulling sensation within her, and it hurt, enough to where she cried out against Fujitaka's shirt as the demon was ripped from her already savaged body.

Fujitaka watched as the black cloud, which was what was left of the demon, was pulled up above them, and then ripped into shreds, it's own death screams harmonizing with Kaho's as she was set free from her own spell.

The wind died away quickly, leaving the two adults still clinging to each other on the floor of the cave.

"Ho-ehhh…" came Sakura's awed voice. "It worked!"

Kaho pushed herself away from Fujitaka to look over at her, "Good, now tell me what you did." She looked tired, which wasn't a surprise, and may have had a bit of a headache.

Sakura grinned with pride in herself as she held up a Card, "I used this one."

The Hope

"Huh…" Kaho said in dazed bewilderment. But, as the woman had previously mentioned, the cavern began to tremble and crack, signaling it's pending collapse.

"We have to get out of here!" Kerberos said as he urged Fujitaka onto his back, Kaho following suit. Sakura released The Fly and picked up Tomoyo, gambling on the need and the adrenaline to allow her to carry her friend through the tunnels and out again. They barely made it to the first tunnel before the cavern completely fell in on itself.

Sakura took the lead, flying as fast as she could through the equally crumbling tunnel.

"Do you think we'll make it?" Fujitaka asked the woman who sat behind him, holding onto him by his waist.

"Not through the way we originally came in," Kaho answered as they emerged into the cavern that had earlier been covered in brittle stone and sand spires. Boulders were falling from the ceiling and the people flying had to not only make their way towards the exit, but avoiding being smashed to the ground by the falling masses of death.

"Sakura can't hold onto Tomoyo much more," Kero called over his shoulder to his riders.

Fujitaka felt Kaho sit up a little and aim her gaze towards the two teenagers. She rested one hand on his shoulder as a large boulder made Sakura have to fall sharply to the left to avoid it, then lost her grip on her friend, _Call Sakura to you!_ She instructed him. That said, she leapt off the guardian and disappeared.

She reappeared quickly, right in the path of Tomoyo's fall. The minute the woman caught her, they both disappeared in a spray of dust, only to reappear again a few feet above Kerberos. Sakura had already made it back to her father, who looked up as Kaho and Tomoyo appeared.

In a controlled fall, Kaho dropped them both on top of the guardian, then phased them all out of the collapsing cavern as fast as her overly exerted mind could process her demands.

OOOO

They landed inside Fujitaka and Kaho's room back at the hotel, and were mildly shocked by the sudden silence and stability.

"We're…back…" Sakura looked around in disbelief. "We're not dead, right?" She looked back at her father.

"I don't think so," Fujitaka answered as he rubbed his forehead. "You okay?"

"Sore, but nothing serious," his daughter replied and looked over at Tomoyo, "Sorry I dropped you."

"It's okay, Kaho caught me," Tomoyo smiled and looked around for the woman to thank her, then paused.

Kaho wasn't there with them.

Or at least, not at that second. She appeared a foot over her bed about a minute later and landed with a thud and a grunt.

"And your need for a semi dramatic entrance was because?" Fujitaka asked as the woman rolled over onto her back and stared at the ceiling.

"I went back to the mansion to make sure the portal collapse didn't cause any sort of implosion," Kaho answered.

"Did it?" Fujitaka asked.

"We'd have all been sucked into a massive black hole by now if it had," Kaho breathed.

"Good," Fujitaka sat down on his own bed and flopped backwards with a groan, "Everything hurts."

"Sorry…" Kaho croaked out.

Sakura remembered something, "What about all those souls we saw? What happened to them?"

Kaho smiled, "Go to the window and look outside, in the direction of the mansion."

Three humans and one Guardian rolled to their feet and stumbled over to the window, and, after a minute's struggle on how to get it open, peered outside into the night sky. The hill top shone and glittered as souls made their way out of the collapsed tunnel and into freedom. Most shot for the sky, while others scattered out into the wind, all of them on their own journeys, back to where they belonged.

"It's beautiful!" Tomoyo said as she filmed.

"Kaho you should really get up and see this," Fujitaka said over his shoulder.

"I would if I could," she murmured.

There was a silent pause, then Fujitaka toddled backwards for a second, then gave let out a giggle, "It's over!" The two teenagers and guardian whooped for joy at the realization, and a calm chuckle of satisfaction came from Kaho.

"Should we go and check on Eriol?" Sakura asked. "Make sure that he's okay?"

"That really isn't a good idea," Kaho said with her eyes closed.

"Why not?" Sakura asked, feeling a significant amount of joy vanish from the moment.

"Think about it, if you had been responsible for a tremendous amount of pain and destruction, to people you knew, even if it wasn't done by your will, would you be ready to face the people you hurt straight after the problem had been solved?" Kaho asked, her eyes remaining closed. "I'm not telling you this to be mean. Had I the energy, I'd also be contemplating the idea myself, but would you be mentally and emotionally stable enough to look at those people and…be able to stand yourself?" Traces of disgust and sorrow flashed across her own feature for just a second.

Sakura was silent for a moment, thinking it over, "No, I guess you're right."

"Call him in a week," Kaho said. "By then he'll have recovered a little and most likely be craving human contact, but not have the courage or will to leave his home."

"Should he really be left alone?" Tomoyo asked, worried for her old friend.

"He's not completely alone," Kaho said. "Spinel is with him, as he always has been. He'll keep Eriol from doing anything drastic if it comes down to that. You have no need to worry about him, he'll be all right." Her eyes finally fluttered open as she brushed her bangs away from her face, then paused in mid move. She sat up quickly, staring at her arm where part of her sleeve had been torn and slipped down. Pulling it down completely, Kaho studied her left arm in amazement, "It's…gone…"

"What's gone?" Fujitaka asked as walked over.

Kaho pulled down her other sleeve and checked her other arm, "They're both gone."

Fujitaka crouched down next to her, taking one of her arms in his hand.

The slash wounds were indeed gone, replaced with silvery scar tissue that swirled at the ends, making the scars look almost decorative.

"They really are…" Fujitaka murmured as he traced his fingers over one of the wispy ends.

Lightning bolts of feeling shot through her at his touch, and Kaho jerked her arm away quickly, "They still hurt a little." That was a lie, what she had felt definitely hadn't been pain, far from it. It had felt…sinfully good, and it startled her, even scared her in some sense.

"That's no surprise," said Kero, who'd changed back into his disguise. "Major injuries like that will hurt for a while after they heal, but it will dissipate over time."

"That's good to know," Kaho said as Fujitaka sat next to her on her bed, her eyes still on the man.

By the looks that were passing between the two adults, the three other occupants made the wise decision of returning to the other room. They did so quietly through the adjoining door, and it swung silently closed behind them, but didn't latch.

"There was something…that I said to you before Sakura released The Hope," Fujitaka said as he stared at his hands, "And I'm not sure if…"

"I heard you," Kaho said as she placed one of her hands on his.

"I see," he murmured.

Neither spoke a for a while, both fighting with the voices in their heads.

"Did you…mean it?" Kaho asked lowly.

"Yes…" Fujitaka answered as he finally dragged his gaze over to look at her. What he saw in her eyes made a smile tug at the corner of his mouth. Pain and fear, the two most prevalent things he'd seen in her eyes since the day she had come to live with them, were gone. What shone through her eyes now was an unmeasured amount of hope, hope and something he'd only gotten a quick glimpse of the night before.

Love

Kaho leaned forward and hugged him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and let her lips brush against his ear, "I love you too." The minute she felt the words pass her lips she realized she'd finally admitted it to herself as well as to him. But, where one weight was lifted from her shoulders, another replaced it.

Was this right?

She pulled away slowly, her hands staying on his shoulders, "But…"

"What?" He watched fear and doubt glint into his eyes.

"Is this right?" Kaho asked as she stared down at the mattress. "I mean…what about Nadeshiko?"

Fujitaka gave her a smile that eased her a bit. "I've asked myself the same question dozens of times throughout this whole…adventure. Do you remember when Nadeshiko visited us on Christmas?" He received a nod. "She asked me if I was planning on being alone like this for the rest of my life. I had no answer for her, only telling her that I still loved her and that I didn't want anything to destroy it." He chuckled, "She put me in my place pretty quickly, telling me that living alone, because Sakura and Toya aren't going to be in the house forever, wasn't going to be the way I would keep my love for her alive. She told me that loving someone else wouldn't destroy our relationship, but proved that I had accepted it and understood that I wouldn't be able to survive being alone."

He paused for a moment, collecting the rest of his thoughts, knowing they were coming a little garbled, "She knew I was attracted to you, and at the same time resisting any idea of getting any closer. After she cleared up my doubts about me falling in love again, that it wouldn't upset her, I began to wonder if it was right too, but I think it was for a few other reasons."

"You mean about me and Toya?" Kaho asked.

"Yes…"

Kaho smiled a little, "I don't know how incredibly happy he is about our relationship, but I think he's more afraid of what I might do to you, more than us being together itself."

"You mean, how you left him?" Fujitaka asked.

Kaho visibly flinch, "I felt bad for having to do what I did, but there was no way around it. I had to leave, and I knew there was going to be someone for Toya in the near future anyways. I think he's got a bit of a love/hate relationship with me. Nothing that would ever cause either of us harm, we're still friends, but I don't think we'll ever be able to get very close to each other again." Sadness entered her eyes at the thought, and she knew later on she'd have to try and confront Toya and settle their relationship with each other.

Fujitaka was silent, his gaze turned inwards, "You still hurt him."

She felt like she'd been stabbed in the chest and she turned to look him straight in the eyes, "Fujitaka, I loved your son, and I had no intention of ever hurting him. When I saw I had to, I waited as long as I could, put it off, looking for a way out of it. But there wasn't any. I can't tell you, or him, how sorry I am for having to have done it, but it's just how it had to be."

His inward gaze disappeared, replaced with a small, mischievous smile, "I know, I just wanted to make sure you saw it the same way."

Her jaw dropped and she grabbed for a pillow to smack him with. He caught her arm in mid swing and they both sat there struggling against each other for a moment, childish giggling filling the room as the woman tried to bat his brains out with the cushy object.

"_You cheeky bastard,"_ she cursed at him good naturedly as she tried to wrestle her arm out of his grip, her other arm having been captured at the wrist and held immobile in her lap.

"You love it," Fujitaka snickered and slowly brushed his thumb over the scar on right arm.

Kaho froze and dropped the pillow, which satisfyingly plopped onto the man's head before falling onto the floor. His kiss followed half a second later, turning Kaho's face a few different shades of pink.

_Hah! I knew it, they don't hurt! _Fujitaka chuckled in her mind.

_You're mean!_ Kaho whined, but physically made a noise of surprise as his other hand mirrored was doing to her opposite arm, sending twice as many shockwaves through her body. _Before you have too much fun with your new toy, I think you should know we have an audience._

_I know, I figured we did when I didn't hear the door latch shut,_ Fujitaka said.

Kaho ended the kiss and rested her forehead against his with closed eyes, out loud she spoke, "All right, you got what you wanted to see, now leave us alone you three." They heard two feminine giggles from the adjoining door plus a deeper one, signaling Kerberos was watching as well. The door closed a few seconds later, but Kaho lifted a trembling hand and flicked it, the sound of the lock latching told them they finally had their privacy.

Fujitaka took her still raised, trembling hand and asked, "Why are you shaking?"

"It's just burn out," Kaho replied, "that, and I'm exhausted." She gave him a challenging looking, "Not to mention what you'd just been doing to me."

"Oh? You mean this?" He spitefully rubbed his palm over one of the scars this time and the woman gasped, then leaned down and rested her forehead against his shoulder, trying keep control over herself. Part of her wanted get back at him for what he was doing, but another, stronger part of her mind, haunted with dark memories, wanted to run from the room, away from the sensations that had before come from nothing but force, pain, and control.

"You're mean," she growled against his throat, her mind finally settling on just holding still, and staying as rational as possible.

He chuckled, having no notion of the turmoil that had run through her mind, and brought her face back up so he could kiss her. _No I'm not, I'd be mean if I did this._ He broke the kiss and brought her left arm up, kissing the scar and raking his teeth gently over the silvery skin.

Kaho saw stars before wriggling away and dashing under her blankets to hide from further intimate affection. "You're mean…" She continued to say, wanting for the life of her to sit down and tell him her story, but didn't have the heart or the will power to possibly destroy what she had just gained. She heard him chuckle and felt the blanket being pulled away from her and she held it in place.

"I won't touch them…for now," Fujitaka promised.

She allowed him to pull the blanket away and scowled at him once the cover was gone.

"What?" Fujitaka asked innocently, giving her a cute, boyish grin.

Dark memories couldn't stand a chance against the man's smile, and it wiped her scowl away instantaneously and she smiled back, a pure, unhindered smile that could have easily sent the man to his knees had he not already been sitting. All he could do was pull her into an embrace and hold her tightly.

"Is this a dream?" The woman asked after a few moments. "Is it really over? Or am I still on the road, trying to get to you and I've fallen asleep somewhere, and my mind has allowed me this escape." She'd done it before, fallen asleep while hiding and had had pleasant dreams of finally getting home, only too be scared awake by something, terror erasing any of the warmth she had felt in her dreams.

"It's no dream," Fujitaka said hooked his finger under chin and tilted her head up so he could look at her. He could see sleep invading her eyes as she fought to keep them open. "I'll be here when you wake up, I promise." He kissed her one final time before the woman settled her head against his chest and finally allowed sleep to take her.

For the first time in a long time, Kaho slept feeling warm, safe, and accepted, and no longer cold, alone, and afraid.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"WAAAAAAH! I'm gonna be late!" Sakura cried as she stumbled downstairs and down the hallway. "Bye Dad, bye Kaho! See you tonight!" And with that, the teenager dashed out the door, still screaming about her tardiness.

Both adults had been sitting at the dining room table quietly playing chess before Sakura had burst downstairs, babbled her hasty farewell, then disappeared, leaving Kaho staring at the spot where the girl had been, rice cracker hanging from her mouth.

"You'll get used to it," Fujitaka said as he leaned over the chessboard and moved his rook out of danger from her bishop.

"If you say so…" Kaho said as she bit into the cracker and turned back to study the board, scowling when she realized she was going to have to sacrifice a knight to save her queen from banishment. She chuckled as she moved the piece, "You know, if Sakura had moved that fast back in that cave she wouldn't have had a problem dodging all those rocks."

Fujitaka chuckled, "Sometimes it's _who_ the death blow might come from rather than the _what_ that makes a person move faster." Kaho blinked at him, completely lost as to what he was talking about. "Tomoyo's concert is tonight and this is their dress rehearsal."

"Oh, that's right, I'd forgotten," Kaho said as she watched Fujitaka move a pawn in a random direction.

"You're still coming, right?" Fujitaka asked.

"Of course, what makes you think I wouldn't?" Kaho asked as she went after the lone and unprotected pawn.

"Well, you're still not completely back to normal yet," Fujitaka said as he watched her annihilate the chess piece. "I don't want you passing out."

Kaho scowled at him, but it was true. She'd fainted twice since their return, but it was only due to the fact that her mind and body were no longer under extreme stress and it was slowly getting itself back to normal. Though she'd slept a lot since their return, her body believed she still needed more, and made sure she got it, even without her consent.

"I won't pass out," Kaho assured him, "As long as we're sitting."

"Front row seats," Fujitaka smirked.

"Only cause you're the daddy of one of the performers," Kaho mocked, then made an unhappy noise as one of Fujitaka's knights claimed her queen, the pawn having been the decoy to remove her protection from her other important pieces. "I should have known you'd be a good chess player…" He merely grinned at her in boyish superiority. She smirked back and popped a static ball under his butt, making him jump about a foot off his seat.

"Hey!" Fujitaka whined as he rubbed his rear end and Kaho mocked his grin of superiority. "Okay, point taken." He moved one of his knights over a few spaces and grinned.

Kaho looked down at the board and sighed, knocking over her king in defeat.

"What's my prize?" Fujitaka asked.

Kaho tipped a delicate eyebrow up at his statement, "Prize?"

"Yes, I win, I get a prize!" Fujitaka said with childish delight.

The woman scowled, "Fine, what do you want?"

The man pondered a minute, index finger tapping nonsense beats against his chin. Finally, Fujitaka grinned, "Show me how you set off whatever you just did under my butt, so I can reciprocate when I feel the time suits it."

"Now why would I want to do that?" Kaho asked as she gave him a sideways glance.

"Cause you love me!" The boyish grin reappeared.

Were it possible, the woman would have melted at the sight, but instead was content to giggle at him. Her giggles ceased abruptly and her eyes became distant, causing the man to look down at her when unexpected silence filled the room.

"Kaho?" Fujitaka asked as he leaned over the table, but there was no response. He stood and walked over to her and turned her chair so she was facing him and put both hands on her shoulders. "Kaho, answer me!"

Her eyes suddenly snapped back into focus and she leaned over and rested her forehead against his chest. Wrapping his arms around her, Fujitaka hugged her to him, "What was that?"

She swallowed, pulling moisture back down her dry throat, "Remember when you asked me if I had visions like you did? Like when you touched your magic? I told you I did, but you don't need to be doing anything magical to receive them. If you're anything like Clow Reed, you'll learn in time. More to the point, I just had a vision."

"What did you see?"

"I…" she frowned for a moment, and he could tell she was torn between telling him something. He looked down to see her rubbing the scars on her arms. Aside from Fujitaka's own touch, any other touch did in fact inflict pain on her. With her rubbing on them now, meant she was causing herself pain to try and ward off a different type of pain.

He took her head in his head and tilted it up to look at him, "What did you see?"

She swallowed again, "Before I tell you, I need to explain something else to you. Something that you may find…disturbing…." Kaho gazed straight into his eyes, "Please promise me that you won't think ill of me after I tell you. I swear everything that I'm about to tell you was against everything that I wanted."

The fear and panic he saw in her eyes told him that he was about to hear a major incident in her travels to get back to Japan. If he'd assumed enough, he had a vague idea of where she'd traveled, and what she encountered. "I promise."

She sighed a final time, then, told him a story.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

A/N: Songs and characters belong to their respective owners, blah blah.

"Good Luck _sou ne mainichi ga_ SUNDAY. _Awatenaide_ My Heart!"

Kaho covered her ears at the sound of the applause behind her, "Is it always like this?!"

"Most of the time!" Fujitaka shouted over the roar.

"And you're not deaf yet how?!"

"Dumb luck I guess!" He grinned at the sight of the woman, not used to such loud music and noise. "Don't worry, it's almost over, this should be the last song."

"For the sake of my ears, I hope so…" Kaho said as she fell sideways and leaned her head against his shoulder.

Fujitaka chuckled, "I think you'll enjoy this."

"I've enjoyed all of it," Kaho murmured.

"That's right, you do have a 'particular appreciation for music,' as you once told me," Fujitaka teased.

"Shush," she poked him, but it just made him chuckle. "Actually, I have a question."

"Yes?" Fujitaka responded.

"What's Sakura's role in all this? I haven't even _seen_ her," Kaho asked.

Fujitaka chuckled, "I was wondering when you were going to ask me that. Most of the time, Tomoyo has very large concerts done in giant concert halls, unlike this smaller outdoors one. This is actually for a charity fund for the cities orphanage by the way, which is why it's much smaller. Back to the point…Sakura usually acts as one of Tomoyo's dancers, but since the stage is much too small for all of them, they were left out of this concert. Sakura also has another roll…" he paused and grinned at her.

"Which is?" Kaho pressed.

"Look at the stage," Fujitaka pointed up, "Do you see any major lights on?"

"No," she answered, but noticed the stage was still lit up brilliantly.

"Correct, they don't use the main lighting systems, ever. It costs too much most of the time, but with Sakura, they don't need to. She just uses The Light, in a sketched out area, and it's lit for free. Also, you know how there's a special affects wall behind the band?"

"Not a projection?" Kaho asked, "I'd wondered why there wasn't anything coming from behind us."

"Right, that's The Illusion Card at work," Fujitaka smiled.

"Hasn't anyone ever asked where all the lights and affects come from?" Kaho asked.

"Once or twice, but Sonomi's always been within hearing range, and she's always thought of something to outwit the curious," Fujitaka answered.

"I see," Kaho murmured, "Sounds like Sonomi."

Tomoyo reappeared on stage at a scampering run and waved, "I'd like to thank everyone for coming tonight and helping raise funds for the Tomoeda Orphanage, and more importantly, for the children that will be benefiting from it!" The crowed, which had finally settled down for a few moments, brought back the roar of screams and applauds. Tomoyo just smiled and took it all in stride, then waited for them to settle down.

"For the end of our performance, I'd like to sing a song inspired by determination, hope, fear, and love. After a very long time, a dear friend of ours has succeeded in overcoming a tremendous fight for their life. This song also expresses the love and family that they have come to find at the end of this long journey. We wish them all the best, and really hope you enjoy this song."

Kaho tilted her head to one side in confusion and curiosity, then looked up at Fujitaka for some type of explanation. He merely grinned at her and said, "Just sit back and enjoy the music."

A soft piano sounded in easy, mellow pulses, tasseled with easy melody strings as the song began, starting on a higher pitch, then switching off to a lower one on the second cycle.

Then, Tomoyo began to sing;

"_I have always dreamed of this_

_But I'll admit that there was something I missed_

_Wondering if it is for real_

_Every mistake, every wrong turn_

_Every time I lost my way_

_Led me to this, moment of bliss_

_Tonight…_

"_With you, finally I can break free_

_With you, I saw changing in my destiny_

_Dream come true, it's so funny now that see_

_How different, life turned out to be."_

_And she had time to write this _when_?_ Kaho asked the man sitting next to her.

His chuckle was barely heard over the music, _It's what's been giving her and Sakura anxiety attacks for the passed few days. Tomoyo wrote it literally the day after your battle, and they've been rehearsing it since we got home._

_But that's only been a few days! _Kaho exclaimed.

_I know, impressive aren't they?_ Fujitaka's mind voice was smug with pride.

"_You were always by my side_

_That you believed in me was enough reason why_

_I didn't stop, didn't give up_

_Even if I sometimes lost hope_

_I did my best, and I am blessed_

_In life!_

"_With you, finally I can break free_

_With you, I saw changing in my destiny_

_Dream come true, it's so funny now that see_

_How different, life turned out to be."_

_She's sickly accurate, _Kaho admitted, while another part of her mind attributed half of that bond to another person she'd had the fortune to cross path with several times while on her journey back home. They deserved, in her mind, just as much recognition as the person the song was obviously portraying.

_Tomoyo's always had a knack for details,_ Fujitaka remarked.

"_Can I get any higher? _

_Tell me!_

_Does it get any stronger?_

_I owe it to you, that I made it through_

_I never could have done it_

_Without you…_

_With you, I can break free, yeah!_

_I saw changing in my destiny!_

_Dream come true!_

_It's so funny now that I see_

_How different, life turned out to be yeah!"_

Kaho looked over at Fujitaka and couldn't help but feel a half smile split her features. The man beside her did the same, and took her hand, proving to her that she still had his support, companionship, and his love, for as long as she lived.

"_Oh, cause of you, _

_I saw changing in my destiny_

_Dream come true_

_It's so funny now that I see…_

_How different, life turned out to be_

_I've realized, that it's my destiny."_

And then it was over, and the audience set into a new round of roaring applause. Tomoyo calmly took her bows, waved a few times, then left the stage.

Kaho, still holding Fujitaka's hand, looked him in the eye for one short second, then phased them backstage, before anyone in the crowd noticed the strange disappearance. Sakura immediately found them.

"What did you guys think?" She bounced over happily.

Kaho tried to answer, but her throat closed, and Fujitaka answered for her.

"It was wonderful Sakura," her father beamed at her. "And where's the lady of the hour, we wish to express our enjoyment to her as well."

"If you're talking about me, I must insist that I am not the point of attention here," Tomoyo said as she walked over.

"And who do you believe is?" Fujitaka smiled.

"The woman on your left side," she returned the smile.

"Why me?" Those were the first words the woman had been able to choke out since the curtain had fallen.

"Because I was only bringing attention to your achievements," Tomoyo said, then with a sly, sideways glance, "and your gains."

Kaho looked at the floor, memories of her journey newly brought to the forefront of her mind, "I've done nothing that I should be proud of."

"We disagree, but since we still don't know the whole story, I can't insist that we're right either," Tomoyo said. "So I shall make myself clearer. You should be proud of what you have done for us, Eriol, Spinel, and more importantly, what you've done for yourself since you've come home."

"Home…" Kaho murmured, then smiled a little. "I really am home aren't I?"

"Yes, you are," Fujitaka said as he wrapped his arms around her from behind and held her close. "So welcome home."

Kaho suddenly found herself in the middle of a hug between Fujitaka, Sakura, and Tomoyo, both teenagers voicing their welcomes as they hugged her.

She leaned back against the man behind her and hung her head, not in shame or defeat, and neither to hide the tears that were now forming a stream down the corner of her eyes, but at the weight she felt from them. The weight of their love, the feeling of finally being back where she belonged, where she was no longer in danger of harm or fighting.

"I'm home…" she whispered. She raised her head up to look at the ceiling, and was surprised to find herself under a skylight, and she could see the stars shining outside. They were shining brighter now, even brighter than they were when they were guiding her back home.

"I'm home."


End file.
